Donald Trump said Tuesday he would support increasing the federal minimum wage to $10 an hour.
Appearing on
Fox News' "The O'Reilly Factor," the GOP presidential nominee was asked to provide a specific number by host Bill O'Reilly who said, "There has to be a federal minimum wage."
Trump replied, "There doesn't have to be. I would leave it and raise it somewhat." Adding that he thought people needed a higher wage. "You need to help people. I know it's not very Republican to say."
O'Reilly then asked for an exact number, to which Trump responded: "10 bucks?" But said he wanted to ensure that minimum-wage earners didn't stay in those jobs.
"I would say $10, but with the understanding that somebody like me is going to bring back jobs. I don't want people to be in that $10 category for very long," Trump said. Adding that the minimum wage should be determined by states. "Let the states make the deal."
O'Reilly pointed out that states can raise their own minimum wage levels.
Trump's support for the federal increase is a break from his party's position that staes and localities should set minimum wage rules based on local labor markets.
The billionaire developer refuted comments that Bernie Sanders made during his speech at the Democratic National Committee that Trump wanted to allow states to pay lower than the federal $7.25 an hour wage.
"That's a new one, because I'm the one Republican who said in some cases we have to go more than minimum wage," Trump said.
According to
Cleveland.com, Sanders' statements about Trump was found it to be true. "Determining where Trump stands on a minimum wage hike can be difficult."
The GOP nominee's statements about minimum wage have varied. In November 2015,
CNN reported Trump said wages need to stay low in order to compete with other countries. Then in May, Trump said he
"open to doing something with it."
Adding, "I'm actually very different from most Republicans."
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