Trump Calls Tax Cuts 'Christmas Present' For Americans

ST. CHARLES, MO — Flanked by Christmas trees, President Trump spoke about changes to the tax code in St. Charles today, hoping to get the public on his side and to push undecided senators over the finish line. More than a hundred protesters turned out to picket the president's speech, while a dozen or so counter protesters showed up to offer their support. The demonstrations were peaceful, with police keeping a watchful eye on both sides and ensuring that streets weren't blocked. Interactions between police and protesters on both sides seemed respectful.

Many protesters said they were concerned with allegations of sexual assault against the president and others. Some called for a speedy investigation into contact between the Trump team and Russia. The vast majority spoke about what they believe is a tax bill set to help the rich at the expense of the middle class.

But the president touted a rising stock market and sinking unemployment rate as proof he is fighting for workers. "There's never been a 10-month president that has accomplished what we have accomplished," Trump said, adding that the economy has grown without tax cuts. "I'm not sure people even believe the tax cuts. We're going to see what happens."

Trump said the tax cuts, if passed, would prove to be "rocket fuel" for the economy, before going off on a tangent about "Little Rocket Man," his nickname for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. "He's a sick puppy," the president added.

Tax reform cleared a major hurdle this week when it passed the Senate Budget Committee. The full Senate is expected to vote today on whether to consider the bill, with Republican holdouts like Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson and Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker starting to come around. Earlier this month the U.S. House of Representatives passed their own massive rewrite of the tax code. Some differences between versions will have to be settled before the final bill will see a vote.

Trump falsely said the tax cuts would not be good for the wealthy, including him. In fact, according to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, nearly half of the proposed cuts would go to the top one percent of income earners, and as many as a quarter of middle-class Americans could actually see their taxes go up due to eliminations of educational benefits, local tax deductions, adoption credits and the like. Trump is likely to benefit personally as well, as much of his income is taxed through the Alternative Minimum Tax, which is on the Republican chopping block. Cuts to taxes on S-corporations would also benefit Trump, and Trump's children would stand to see millions of dollars from the repeal of the Estate Tax.

Some critics, including Washington University chancellor Mark Wrighton, have also said parts of the legislation would have a detrimental effect on higher education, specifically the repeal of several tax credits that benefit students. The bill is also expected to add $1.5 trillion to the deficit over the next decade, according to the Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation.

The president also spoke about the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which he said had been preventing lenders from lending and hurting banks before his new pick, Mick Mulvaney, took over as its head this week.

He attacked Democrats for wanting an unlimited flood of illegal immigrants and a weaker military. None of that is true, but it nonetheless proved one of the biggest applause lines of his speech.

Trump promised to sign whatever bill the Congress sends him and said afterward that he plans to revisit Obamacare repeal. Welfare reform is also on the agenda, according to the president, who decried welfare recipients he says make more than those who "work their asses off."

Most welfare recipients do, in fact, work and independent analysts have said that waste, fraud and abuse in the system is very low.

With Republicans in control of all branches of government, Trump said it should be easy to pass tax cuts, repeal health care, and accomplish the rest of his agenda. But so far that hasn't proved true. He attacked Democrats, including Mo. Sen. Claire McCaskill, as obstructionists, before turning to more comfortable culture war issues.

"We are going to be celebrating merry Christmas again, and it's going to be done with a big, beautiful tax cut," the president said, calling the bill a Christmas present to Americans.

Watch the president’s speech live:

Photos by J. Ryne Danielson/Patch