The presumptive Republican presidential nominee thinks taxes for the wealthy should increase, despite what his tax plan says. In fact, no one should really see his tax plan as any kind of promise because anything he puts forward would be renegotiated in Congress, Donald Trump told NBC’s Meet the Press.
“The thing I’m going to do is make sure the middle class gets good tax breaks because they have been absolutely shunned, the other thing I’m going to fight very hard for business,” Trump said. “For the wealthy I think frankly it’s going to go up—and you know what? It really should go up.”
Trump says voters should really see his tax plan as a “floor” to begin negotiations once he is in the White House. “When it comes time to negotiate I feel less concerned for the rich than I do for the middle class,” Trump said.
His comments mark the latest example of how Trump is well aware that part of the reason why he has been able to do so well in the primaries is the overarching anger at the richest Americans and the feeling that the middle class is getting a raw deal.
Along the same lines, Trump has also reversed his position on the minimum wage. Although he often spoke of the need to keep the minimum wage steady, he is now saying “people should get more.” Still, he said it is the states that should decide. “I’ve seen what’s going on and I don’t know how people make it on $7.25 an hour. With that being said, I would like to see an increase of some magnitude but I’d rather leave it to the states.”
Doesn’t this all amount to flip-flopping? “Sure, it’s a change,” Trump told ABC’s This Week. “I’m allowed to change. You need flexibility.” After all, Trump is no stranger to changing his position on issues.
