President Joe Biden visited his hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania, to deliver a fiery speech on his tax plans. In his statement, he mocked former president Donald Trump as shares of his media company fell sharply on Tuesday. “You know, I have to say, if Trump’s stock in the true social company drops any lower, he might do better under my tax plan than his.” In response, the audience cheered with laughter.
“If Trump’s stock in his Truth Social company drops any lower, he might do better under my tax plan than his.” Dark Brandon for the win! pic.twitter.com/IlnYMdUUiK
— Luke Beasley (@lukepbeasley) April 16, 2024
As per The Hill , Truth Social’s parent business, Trump Media & Technology Group, saw sharp losses in the stock market following a good launch last month, with shares jumping above $79 on opening day trading and settling at $62 by the end of the week. Just before Tuesday’s closing bell, Truth Social’s share price had dropped by more than 13%—to almost $23. In response, Trump’s team at Truth Social remarked, “Seeing as President Joe Biden regularly posts to his campaign account on Truth Social, we have faith he sees the value of a free-speech social media start-up that has no debt and more than $200 million in the bank.”
As per The NY Times , Biden continued to criticize Trump’s tax plans: “Donald Trump looks at the world differently than you and me.” Biden said, “He wakes up in the morning at Mar-a-Lago thinking about himself. How he can help his billionaire friends gain power and control, and force their extreme agenda on the rest of us.” During his address, Biden promised that no one making less than $400,000 would suffer an increase in taxes under his plan.
Biden: “Under my plan, nobody earning less than $400K a year will pay an extra penny in taxes!” pic.twitter.com/oV5cXh7vre
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) April 9, 2024
Addressing the crowd, Biden stated, “I hope you’re able to make $400,000…I never did,” and proceeded to outline his recommendations of raising the child tax credit’s amount, providing a $10,000 tax credit to people purchasing their first homes, and increasing the corporate and billionaire minimum tax rate. “We know the best way to build an economy is from the middle out and the bottom up, not the top down,” the President said. “Because when you do that, the poor have a ladder up and the middle class does well and the wealthy still do very well. We all do well.”
Biden talking about Trump’s plan to raise taxes! pic.twitter.com/CiqnFHV32u
— Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias) April 10, 2024
A spokesman for the Trump campaign, Karoline Leavitt, denied that Biden’s proposal would help the American people. “President Trump proudly passed the largest tax cuts in history,” she stated. “Joe Biden is proposing the largest tax hike ever.” Biden’s speech marked a three-day tour of Pennsylvania, with stops planned in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh on Wednesday. In collaboration with state Democratic parties, his team has established more than 100 field offices around the country, invested $30 million in a massive advertising campaign, and accumulated a sizable fundraising lead over Trump.