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Americans lambasted President George H. W. Bush for infamously vowing connected signifier astatine the 1988 Republican National Convention not to rise taxes connected Americans, past supporting a taxation hike arsenic president 2 years later.
History could repetition itself arsenic President Donald Trump this week signaled his enactment for legislature Republicans raising taxes to execute the ambitious goals of his "big, beauteous bill," according to experts.
"My hostile won't regularisation retired raising taxes, but I will. And the Congress volition propulsion maine to rise taxes, and I'll accidental no. And they'll propulsion and I'll accidental no. And they'll propulsion again, and I'll accidental to them: ‘Read my lips: nary caller taxes,’" then-Vice President Bush vowed astatine the 1988 convention, earlier raising taxes 2 years aboriginal with the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990.
While acknowledging the governmental backlash his chap Republican faced, Trump signaled in a Truth Social post connected Friday his ain willingness to rise taxes connected Americans, following reports confirmed by Fox News Digital that the president is considering raising the taxation complaint connected individuals making $2.5 cardinal oregon much by 2.6%, from 37% to 39.6%.
TRUMP CONSIDERS TAX HIKE ON AMERICANS MAKING $2.5 MILLION OR MORE PER YEAR
Political experts compared President Donald Trump, right, to President George H. W. Bush aft Trump signaled his enactment for a tiny taxation hike. (Pool/Getty Images)
"The occupation with adjacent a ‘TINY’ taxation summation for the RICH, which I and each others would graciously judge successful bid to assistance the little and mediate income workers, is that the Radical Left Democrat Lunatics would spell astir screaming, ‘Read my lips,’ the fabled Quote by George Bush the Elder that is said to person outgo him the Election. NO, Ross Perot outgo him the Election! In immoderate event, Republicans should astir apt not bash it, but I’m OK if they do!!!" Trump said.
Ross Perot, the precocious billionaire Texas businessman and philanthropist, ran an autarkic run arsenic a third-party campaigner successful the 1992 statesmanlike election, winning an historical 19% of the fashionable vote.
As Trump suggested, the governmental fallout of raising taxes contributed to Bush losing re-election to President Bill Clinton successful 1992. Democrats slammed Bush successful campaign ads for walking backmost his connection arsenic blimpish Republicans criticized the president for being retired of measurement with the party's accepted taxation policies.
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich led Republican disapproval of Bush's taxation hike proposal, and Gingrich has urged Trump to basal down connected raising taxes since rumors the medication was floating a small taxation hike archetypal swirled.
TRUMP'S FIRST VICE PRESIDENT URGES HIS OLD BOSS AGAINST RAISING TAXES ON WEALTHY AMERICANS
Gingrich precocious told Larry Kudlow connected FOX Business that Trump is simply a Ronald Reagan Republican, not a Bush Republican, and raising taxes would beryllium an "act of destruction."
"It would perfectly shatter his coalition," Gingrich said. "It would mean the full blimpish question would emergence successful rebellion, and it would mean each tiny concern successful the state would commencement recalculating who they are going to laic off, if they are adjacent going to enactment successful business. It would marque nary consciousness astatine all."
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is starring ongoing fund negotiations for Trump's "big, beauteous bill." (Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)
Negotiations are ongoing among House Republicans to finalize Trump's "big, beauteous bill," which is expected to see an hold of Trump's 2017 taxation cuts and fulfill run promises, including nary taxation connected tips, overtime oregon Social Security.
Republican politicians and pundits person joined Gingrich's critique of Trump's imaginable taxation hike, arguing Trump is repeating the aforesaid mistakes arsenic Bush.
"[House] Speaker [Mike] Johnson and Republican members of Congress indispensable person experienced corporate déjà vu erstwhile President Trump urged Congress to rise taxes," New England College President Wayne Lesperance, a seasoned governmental idiosyncratic and governmental historian, told Fox News Digital.
"Harkening backmost to the infamous 'Read my lips' pledge made by George H. W. Bush astatine the 1988 GOP Convention, today's Republicans indispensable beryllium tense astatine the president's alteration connected what is simply a sacrosanct contented for the enactment — taxation cuts. Interestingly, George H. W. Bush's determination to interruption his pledge was surrounded by notably antithetic circumstances," Lesperance added.
In this Feb. 11, 1991, record photo, President George H. W. Bush talks to reporters successful the Rose Garden of the White House successful Washington, D.C., aft gathering with apical subject advisors to sermon the Persian Gulf War. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds, File)
But Lesperance reminded Republicans, who presently power the House and Senate, that Democrats could summation an borderline successful the 2026 midterms if taxation hikes beryllium to beryllium arsenic unpopular among Republicans arsenic they were successful 1992.
"Facing a Democratically controlled Congress, Bush reneged connected his pledge arsenic a compromise to trim the shortage and walk the 1990 fund agreement. Bush's determination to compromise connected taxes is wide credited with costing him his bid for re-election. As Speaker Johnson and Republican members of Congress look up to midterm elections, determination indispensable beryllium corporate interest that President Trump's shifting presumption connected taxes volition outgo them astatine the polls," Lesperance said.
Longtime Republican advisor David Carney, a seasoned of galore GOP statesmanlike campaigns, said the determination by Bush "was astir apt the azygous astir detrimental happening to his re-election."
Then-Republican statesmanlike campaigner Donald Trump speaks during a run rally astatine Madison Square Garden successful New York connected Oct. 27, 2024. (Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images)
Carney, who served successful the elder Bush’s White House and worked connected his statesmanlike campaigns, told Fox News "the woody helium chopped was excellent. He chopped spending, balanced retired the taxes."
But Carney emphasized "all that’s wrong shot and the world is it was a large accidental for radical from the close and the near to marque hay retired of it, and it was perfectly hurtful."
However, fiscal conservatives stay optimistic that Trump won't rise taxes, contempt the president softening to the thought connected societal media connected Friday morning.
"President Trump campaigned connected not raising taxes, and we are assured that’s precisely what he’ll do," Club for Growth President David McIntosh told Fox News Digital.
When reached for remark astir the Bush comparison, the White House pointed to property caput Karoline Leavitt's comments during the White House briefing connected Friday.
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"The president wants taxation cuts, the largest taxation cuts successful history," Leavitt said. "He wants to widen his historical taxation cuts from 2017, and helium wants to spot each the different taxation priorities," including nary taxation connected tips, overtime oregon Social Security.
"The president has said helium himself personally would not caput paying a small spot much to assistance the mediocre and the mediate people and the moving people successful this country. I think, frankly, that's a precise honorable position. But again, these negotiations are ongoing connected Capitol Hill, and the president volition measurement successful erstwhile helium feels necessary," she added.
Fox News Digital's Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.
Deirdre Heavey is simply a authorities writer for Fox News Digital.
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