Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said Sunday that he’s open to raising taxes on the wealthy, and he cast his entire tax proposal as little more than a floor from which he will begin negotiations with congressional leaders if he’s elected to the White House in November.
“We have to negotiate. The thing I’m going to do is make sure the middle class gets good tax breaks … For the wealthy, frankly, I think it’s going to go up. And it should go up,” he said during an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” which was recorded Saturday.
Mr. Trump vowed again that middle-class families and small businesses would see their tax bills go down under his administration.
But his willingness to raise taxes on wealthy Americans indicates that Mr. Trump understands the anger and frustration many working-class voters feel toward the so-called “1 percent.”
As for his broader tax plans, Mr. Trump said that nothing is set in stone.
“I have no illusions. I don’t think that’s going to the final plan,” he said. “When it comes time to negotiate, I feel less concerned with the rich than I do with the middle class.”
• Ben Wolfgang can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.
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