Trump wants tax cuts for the rich. Biden's making sure voters know it
Talking about tax policy is one of the best ways for President Joe Biden to create a contrast with Donald Trump on who will fight for average Americans. As Trump told a group of wealthy campaign donors earlier this month, one of his signature issues if elected president in November will be extending the tax cuts Republicans enacted during his term in 2017—which overwhelmingly benefited wealthy Americans. There's no audio of the statement, but it echoes comments Trump made last year during a private fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago for North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, an extremist Republican who is running for governor. Addressing the audience, Trump called some attendees “rich as hell” before promising, “We’re gonna give you tax cuts!” The Biden campaign spliced that proclamation into an ad where the president is joined by Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont. “When he thinks the cameras aren't on,” Biden says, “he tells his rich friends, ‘We're going to give you tax cuts.’” Here’s what Donald Trump says when he thinks you’re not watching: He says he’s going to cut taxes for his rich friends, all while cutting Social Security for everyone else. @BernieSanders and I are mad as hell about it, and together, we’re going to stop him. pic.twitter.com/QYcBILQkzY— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) April 5, 2024 Biden also worked Trump's tax plan into a recent press conference in the White House Rose Garden when he was asked whether he was concerned about inflation. “We have dramatically reduced inflation from 9 percent down to close to 3 percent,” Biden responded, noting that inflation was “skyrocketing” when he took office. “And we have a plan to deal with it, whereas the opposition—my opposition talks about two things. They just want to cut taxes for the wealthy and raise taxes on other people.” Biden will travel to Scranton, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday to deliver a major speech on tax policy. The topic is no accident. A recent Navigator Research focus group found the issue of tax inequity was top of mind for voters in the swing states of Michigan, Virginia, and Minnesota. Among the focus group’s main findings were these three points, according to Navigator: The federal tax system is widely seen as unfair, benefiting only those who know how to navigate loopholes. The Biden Administration’s record on taxes feels virtually unknown to most. The Trump-era tax cuts are remembered more fondly initially than when the details are reintroduced. Overwhelmingly, though, participants viewed the tax system as unfair. “I think the middle class and the lower-class people [are being screwed], but primarily the middle-class people because it just seems like a lot of the burden falls on us,” said an independent-leaning Republican man from Michigan. “I think the big corporations and that 1% that they're talking about [don’t pay their fair share], just because they pay people that know their way around taxes, and they know what they do unlike the middle class that have to do their own taxes,” said one Republican Virginia woman. “The tax system is set up to benefit those who make more money ... I feel like if you make less money, you end up, percentage-wise, paying more taxes. I just want everyone to pay their fair share. And the government sort of provides all of these different ways for people to get out of paying taxes,” said a Democratic woman from Michigan. Going forward, one of the Biden campaign's key jobs will be to remind voters exactly who Trump's tax cuts helped, what Trump plans to do if he's elected again, and how Biden plans to continue cutting costs for average Americans while making wealthy individuals and corporations pay their fair share. Campaign Action
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Talking about tax policy is one of the best ways for President Joe Biden to create a contrast with Donald Trump on who will fight for average Americans. As Trump told a group of wealthy campaign donors earlier this month, one of his signature issues if elected president in November will be extending the tax cuts Republicans enacted during his term in 2017—which overwhelmingly benefited wealthy Americans.
There's no audio of the statement, but it echoes comments Trump made last year during a private fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago for North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, an extremist Republican who is running for governor. Addressing the audience, Trump called some attendees “rich as hell” before promising, “We’re gonna give you tax cuts!”
The Biden campaign spliced that proclamation into an ad where the president is joined by Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont.
“When he thinks the cameras aren't on,” Biden says, “he tells his rich friends, ‘We're going to give you tax cuts.’”
Biden also worked Trump's tax plan into a recent press conference in the White House Rose Garden when he was asked whether he was concerned about inflation.
“We have dramatically reduced inflation from 9 percent down to close to 3 percent,” Biden responded, noting that inflation was “skyrocketing” when he took office. “And we have a plan to deal with it, whereas the opposition—my opposition talks about two things. They just want to cut taxes for the wealthy and raise taxes on other people.”
Biden will travel to Scranton, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday to deliver a major speech on tax policy.
The topic is no accident. A recent Navigator Research focus group found the issue of tax inequity was top of mind for voters in the swing states of Michigan, Virginia, and Minnesota.
Among the focus group’s main findings were these three points, according to Navigator:
- The federal tax system is widely seen as unfair, benefiting only those who know how to navigate loopholes.
- The Biden Administration’s record on taxes feels virtually unknown to most.
- The Trump-era tax cuts are remembered more fondly initially than when the details are reintroduced.
Overwhelmingly, though, participants viewed the tax system as unfair.
“I think the middle class and the lower-class people [are being screwed], but primarily the middle-class people because it just seems like a lot of the burden falls on us,” said an independent-leaning Republican man from Michigan.
“I think the big corporations and that 1% that they're talking about [don’t pay their fair share], just because they pay people that know their way around taxes, and they know what they do unlike the middle class that have to do their own taxes,” said one Republican Virginia woman.
“The tax system is set up to benefit those who make more money ... I feel like if you make less money, you end up, percentage-wise, paying more taxes. I just want everyone to pay their fair share. And the government sort of provides all of these different ways for people to get out of paying taxes,” said a Democratic woman from Michigan.
Going forward, one of the Biden campaign's key jobs will be to remind voters exactly who Trump's tax cuts helped, what Trump plans to do if he's elected again, and how Biden plans to continue cutting costs for average Americans while making wealthy individuals and corporations pay their fair share.
