Instead of Discussing Kitchen Table Issues, Trump Flipped over the Table
Wanton disregard for the American people. Hostility. A preview of what’s to come. There is no one word or phrase that can accurately describe the spectacle that tens of millions of us witnessed last night. Like many of you, we tuned in to the first presidential debate prepared to listen to some semblance of a serious discussion about where the candidates stand on key policy issues. Instead, the verbal barrage left us intellectually depleted. Kudos to anyone who could sleep like a baby after that onslaught.
Instead of serious answers about kitchen table issues, the public got a preview of the scorched earth approach President Trump may take to stay in power. As many commentators have noted, he showed up with the express intent to throw Joe Biden off his game in service of a far-right narrative. We all deserve better than the one-sided brawl that Trump delivered.
Debate moderator Chris Wallace said ahead of time that the economy would be one of six topics. The recent news about Trump’s tax dodging made tax policy a likely subject as well. As Citizens for Tax Justice, we wanted to hear pointed discussion about both.
But when he wasn’t delivering hyperbolic or false statements about the Trump economy or his response to the current health and economic crisis, Trump made sure that viewers couldn’t process anything that Biden said. If we didn’t know before, those of us who watched are now well aware of Biden’s youngest son’s name thanks to Trump. But what we don’t know is how, beyond the president’s overly optimistic vaccine promises, the nation will get to the other side of the COVID-19 health and economic crisis.
We have no clue what Trump’s plan is for the small businesses that are failing every day. And we have no idea what the plan is for restoring the millions of jobs that the economy has shed. The 7 million people who contracted COVID-19 and the 205,000 and counting people who have died received no sympathy from the commander in chief. The debate offered no insight into how the government will help the 26 million unemployed workers and their families, nor do we know the policy approach to the upcoming eviction crisis.
Biden has policy ideas, but it seems Trump’s intent was to dominate the debate stage — not allow us to carefully weigh his record and rationally compare it to what the other candidate has to offer.
On the New York Times’ revelation that he has paid no income taxes in 10 of the last 15 years, Trump’s answer left loads to be desired. He dismissively claimed that he paid “millions,” but he remains unwilling to release his tax returns as every other major party presidential candidate has done for the past 40 years. Regardless, we know that no matter what he has said about being a champion for the middle class, Trump’s policies have cut taxes for the rich and corporations and made it easier for big businesses to pollute our environment. As a private citizen, he lobbied for and eventually secured tax loopholes that would help wealthy developers like him and his son-in-law Jared Kushner. And now, in the midst of a pandemic that is hurting low-income people most, he continues to throw out the idea of a capital gains tax cut.
Finally, we are joining the chorus of people who are appalled (but sadly not surprised) that the President of the United States could not and would not unequivocally denounce white supremacy. We all have to demand better from our elected officials. The nation cannot get better if we do not learn from our past and concede that the legacy of racism still permeates our institutions and policies. But Trump isn’t even a single baby step toward this understanding if he is entreating violent white supremacist groups to “stand by,” and using “law and order,” and “ruining your beautiful suburbs,” dog whistles.
For months, pundits, opinion writers and others have been sounding the alarm that Trump might not accept a loss. Last night, he didn’t provide us an overview with what he would do to make sure the economy works for all should he get a second term. He barely disguised his threat to burn it all down.
We are Citizens for Tax Justice. Tax justice is social justice, racial justice, economic justice, gender justice, and climate justice. The work for justice requires a functioning democracy. Vote.
