President Trump Touts Popular Executive Actions, Proposes More Tax Cuts As Dems Mull Next Move

AP Photo/Andrew Harnik

The White House said President Trump acted with full legal authority to bypass Congress in providing more aid to Americans hurting from the coronavirus pandemic, while no Democratic leaders stepped forward Monday to block the political popular moves less than three months before national elections.

The president, at an evening news conference, also said he will propose more tax cuts this fall for middle-class families and to reduce capital gains taxes. He contrasted his plans with presumptive Democratic nominee Joseph R. Biden, whom he said would triple taxes on most Americans and businesses if elected.

“They want to raise corporate taxes, but they want to raise all taxes,” he said of the Democrats. “Under this crazy plan that these people are proposing, you will have a crash like you’ve never seen before.”

Mr. Trump said of his weekend executive actions cutting taxes and providing other relief, “We did something that’s very important and frankly, it’s been very well received.”

The president’s suspension of the payroll tax, effective on Sept. 1, essentially will give 140 million workers a temporary pay raise of 7.5% through at least the end of the year. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, despite questioning the legality of the president’s move and complaining it would drain funds from Social Security and Medicare, offered no immediate legal challenge.

The Trump campaign noted that Mrs. Pelosi supported an extension of payroll tax cuts in 2012 when President Obama was running for reelection.

“Our economy and our people need this boost,” Mrs. Pelosi said at the time. “From a macroeconomic standpoint, the demand that is injected into the economy when people spend this money will be a job creator.”

The White House and its allies believe the president’s actions have boxed in not only congressional Democrats but also put presumptive Democratic nominee Joseph R. Biden.

“Does Biden really want to campaign this fall for a tax increase on every working American under $100,000 in income?” former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said on Twitter.

“The payroll tax is a big deal for people, it’s a tremendous saving for people,” Mr. Trump said. “We intend to terminate it at the end of the appropriate time.”

Read the rest of the story HERE.

If you like what you see, please "Like" us on Facebook either here or here. Please follow us on Twitter here.