Hillary Clinton promised tax hikes and falsely attacked Donald Trump’s tax plan at her rally Wednesday afternoon in Cleveland, Ohio.
“We are going to tax the wealthy who have made all the income gains in the last fifteen years. The super wealthy, corporations, Wall Street,” Clinton railed.
“He’s even created a new tax loophole called the Trump Loophole. It would allow millionaires and billionaires to cut their taxes in half,” Clinton claimed, saying that Trump “will do nothing for 99.8 percent of Americans.”
“Donald Trump doesn’t need a tax cut. I don’t need a tax cut. It’s time for the wealthiest Americans…to pay their fair share,” Clinton said.
Clinton asserted that she was the only Democratic or Republican candidate in the entire race who said that “I will not raise taxes on the middle class.”
This line of attack rings false.
Trump’s plan slashes taxes across all brackets, dramatically lowering middle-class tax rates and eliminating income taxes for poor people making less than $25,000 per year or married couples making less than $50,000.
Clinton continues to attack Trump as though he’s a typical Republican candidate on taxes, without acknowledging the populist nature of Trump’s plan, which closes corporate loopholes. Trump also plans to preserve Social Security and Medicare in their current versions by bringing in new income from foreign trade.
Clinton in Cleveland exhibited many of the hallmarks of her speeches, yelling loudly while listing things including infrastructure items. Clinton almost always begins yelling when she gets to a “list” portion of her prepared speeches. Clinton also tried awkwardly to wink at the audience, which did not quite work out.
Clinton went after Trump personally with various banal talking points.
“For anyone waiting for Donald Trump to become more responsible, remember what a great American named Maya Angelou said, ‘When someone shows you who he is, believe them.'”
“He can hire and fire anyone he wants from his campaign,” Clinton said, clearly referring to Breitbart News chief Steve Bannon’s hiring Wednesday as campaign CEO.
Clinton said that Trump “insults Gold Star families, demeans women, mocks people with disabilities, and thinks that he knows more about ISIS than our generals.”
“There is no new Donald Trump. This is it,” she said.
“Friends don’t let friends vote for Trump,” Clinton recited.