(NewsNation) — President Trump has recently signaled an open-mindedness to raising taxes on the wealthiest Americans to offer tax relief to the middle class, a concept that some Republicans are supporting.
Three GOP members who appeared on NewsNation’s “First 100 Days” televised town hall predicted the Republican president will go against the party’s traditional grain and embrace a so-called millionaire tax increase.
“This is a revolution. You’re 100 days into this,” said Steve Bannon, an adviser to Trump in his first term.
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Ronna McDaniel, former chair of the Republican National Committee, said a tax adjustment benefiting the middle class is one way Trump could reward working-class voters who supported him in the 2024 election.
“I do think President Trump is very serious about this,” she said. “I think he wants to get his promise made to have no taxes on tips, no taxes on overtime. They’ve got to find a way to make that happen, and I think this is the path he’s going to choose.”
Former New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, a Republican, agreed. He said Trump’s potential tax hike on the rich would be offset by offering businesses more flexible regulations.
“It’s kind of give-and-take,” Sununu said. “We might not give you the tax cut that you want up here, but we’re going to give you all these other benefits over here.”
A fourth panelist on Wednesday’s program, Democratic strategist James Carville, insisted that Trump is more interested in cutting taxes for the rich, rather than raising them.
“I hope that Steve is right,” Carville said of Bannon’s prediction. “I don’t think he is.”
Trump recently told Time magazine that he loves the idea of the millionaire tax increase but pivoted the following day, saying there could be unintended consequences.
