President Donald Trump has "always wanted" an additional coronavirus relief bill, "as long as it is targeted to the right places," White House National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow said Tuesday.
"He won't sign on to some ideological political package that has nothing to do with COVID or the economy, which is still a problem in the Democratic offering," Kudlow said on Fox News' "America's Newsroom."
He added that he doesn't want to make a forecast about how the talks will turn out, saying that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Chief of Staff Mark Meadows are doing a good job in their negotiations with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Trump's administration has proposed a $1.8 trillion package, with Pelosi pushing for one at $2.2 trillion, but the president told Fox News' "Fox and Friends" Tuesday that he wants to have a relief package that is "even bigger" than the Democrats plan.
Kudlow said that getting Republicans to sign on to an even bigger bill would depend on its priorities, including assistance on schools, unemployment, small businesses, and the airlines.
"On those things, he is 100% for it," said Kudlow.
He also discussed a new study from the Hoover Institute and Stanford University that shows the potential damages of Democrat nominee Joe Biden's tax plans.
"They estimate taxes will blow sky-high," said Kudlow. "The individual income tax goes up, the Social Security tax goes up, for successful earners well into 50% not including the states. Well into 50%. It raises the capital gains tax for investment by 80%. It rises the corporate tax by 35% and makes us uncompetitive."
In addition, Biden's tax and regulatory policies would cost 5 million jobs, or $2.6 trillion in the gross domestic product, Kudlow commented.
"We're talking stagnation, decline, recession, pessimism," said Kudlow. "President Trump, on the other hand, is talking about lowering middle-class tax rates. His message is deregulation and lowering taxes and good trade deals. You are talking about prosperity, optimism, economic growth. The choice couldn't be clearer here."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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