Comedian George Lopez has endorsed socialist Bernie Sanders for president — despite admitting he just “can’t” pay any more in taxes.
In an interview with BigBoyTV, the 54-year-old comedian said he’d endorsed the Vermont senator for president, but also said he doesn’t want to pay any more in taxes. Sanders is the only candidate in the race whose tax plan raises rates on practically all Americans, and not just the rich.
“I endorsed Bernie Sanders, but really just to… I mean, it’s cool,” Lopez told the radio host. “I can’t pay any more taxes; it’s ridiculous. But, so, we’ll figure it out. I really just did it to get the awareness out and have people vote.”
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Lopez’s net worth is estimated to be anywhere from $35 million to $50 million. In 2014, he made Forbes magazine’s list of the world’s highest-paid celebrities, definitively placing him in the top one percent of all wage earners in America.
According to the non-partisan Tax Policy Center, the top one percent of earners will pay an average of $525,000, or 34 percent more, in after-tax income under Sanders’ proposed tax plan. Meanwhile, middle-class households will pay an average of $4,700 more in taxes annually, while low-income workers will still have to pay an additional $165 per year in taxes on average.
“All income groups would pay some additional tax, but most would come from high-income households, particularly those with the very highest income,” the report found. “[Sanders’] proposals would raise taxes on work, saving, and investment, in some cases to rates well beyond recent historical experience in the U.S.”
During his interview, Lopez also took aim at a favorite target: GOP presidential frontrunner Donald Trump.
“I have a Donald Trump line,” Lopez, who in March tweeted a photo of a beheaded Trump, said. “I say, he calls Mexicans criminals and rapists, I said, so next time I see him I’m going to f**k him and rob him.”
Lopez also weighed in on what he thinks is the real meaning behind Trump’s campaign slogan, Make America Great Again.
“I think it means Make America White Again,” Lopez explained. “I think it means let’s separate the people, let’s have it, you know, let’s have it the way we used to have it… It is great, this country is great.”
Last year, the comedian jokingly suggested that if Trump were to be elected, he would leave the country.
“There’s enough racists in this country for him to get elected,” Lopez told TMZ. “If he wins, he won’t have to worry about immigration, we’ll all go back.”
Follow Daniel Nussbaum on Twitter: @dznussbaum