‘No-brainer’: Bannon begs Trump to break with party — and touch 3rd rail of GOP politics
President Donald Trump’s longtime far-right ally Steve Bannon wants him to touch the third rail of Republican Party politics — and raise taxes on the rich.
Specifically, some within Trump’s circle are coming around to the idea that a tax increase on millionaires might be the only way to make his “big, beautiful bill” of tax cuts on everyone else, plus energy deregulation and border security, pencil.
According to The Washington Post, “While the prospect of a tax hike has gotten a largely chilly reception among Republicans on Capitol Hill, Vice President JD Vance and budget director Russell Vought have expressed openness to the idea in internal administration deliberations and are viewed as supportive, said the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private talks. Stephen K. Bannon, who served as the president’s chief strategist during his first term, has been publicly urging Trump to endorse the plan in part as a way to defang Democratic attacks on the GOP as the party of the rich.”
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“This guts the AOC-Bernie ‘oligarchy tour,’” Bannon said, according to the Post. He was referring to recent dual rallies by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT). “Politically, it’s game, set, match — it’s a no-brainer. This would destroy the Democrats.”
Bannon has notably broken with the GOP on this issue for a while, claiming that bills to reduce taxes on the wealthy are a “racket.”
The tax hike could involve creating a new bracket for people making over $5 million, according to the report, which is a suggestion of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
The idea is facing sharp pushback from some of the more traditionally Republican-aligned members of Trump’s orbit, the report continued: “Newt Gingrich, Steve Moore and Larry Kudlow have come out strongly against it, arguing the plan undermines the president’s promise to cut taxes and will discourage economic growth, as has the influential Fox News host Sean Hannity.”
Meanwhile, key Trump-aligned lawmakers in Congress, like Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) have made clear it would be a hard sell.
Part of the problem is that Republicans have gotten swift blowback, even from some members of their own party, such as Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO), over the level of spending cuts originally envisioned for the bill, which would include harsh cuts to Medicaid.
Regardless, conservative analysts think even a Trump-backed tax hike on the rich would be doomed, with American Action Forum president Doug Holtz Eakin saying, “I don’t see it getting through the Senate Finance Committee — there’s not a chance,” and that in the House, “They’ll deflect and say they want to consider all possibilities, but it won’t have the votes. … They’ll see this as a punitive tax on rich people for no reason. They don’t like the politics. They don’t like the economics. They’re not interested.”