Marc Short: Trump would love to make 2020 election about the economy

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President Trump would love to make the economy the central issue of the 2020 presidential race because, by any metric, he's outperformed Democrats and increased American prosperity, said Marc Short, chief of staff for Vice President Mike Pence.

Short's remarks came Tuesday as he discussed the upcoming State of the Union address on Fox News' "America's Newsroom." He said he expects the commander in chief to highlight the country's recent economic success as one of the main accomplishments of his administration.

"I think that the president is excited to talk to the American people and tell them about all that's been accomplished over the last three years. So much of the inside-the-Beltway media coverage has been focused on this sham investigation and impeachment. But tonight he has the opportunity to say, 'Look, in the last three years, we've had a remarkable economic turnaround," he said.

"[We've created] seven million new jobs, lowest unemployment ever for African-Americans, for Hispanic-Americans, for Asian-Americans, for disabled Americans, a record number of women that are employed today. It’s a phenomenal story."

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Short was then asked to respond to a comment made by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, D-Mich., who is set to give the rebuttal to Trump's State of the Union speech. Whitmer said during a CNN appearance that the president's economic policies do not help everyday Americans, especially with regard to the rising stock market.

Short said the American people are aware of the economic boom and have seen their incomes rise across the board — far more than during Barack Obama's tenure as president.

"The American people know better," Short replied. "The average disposable income for an average family in America has increased $5,000 for the last three years. And you look at the actual lower 50 percent and net wealth, have had the greatest increase in net wealth relative to the top one percent during the Trump era."

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"This president has a great story to tell for all Americans and their economic achievements and if Democrats want to talk about the economy, that’s great," he added.

"We'd love to have that debate with Democrats, looking at what they accomplished or didn’t accomplish, during the eight years of the Obama Administration and a stagnant economy that averaged less than two percent growth relative to what this administration's accomplishing."