Speaker Pelosi Attacks Trump Linking Debt to National Security
Trump "I Also Deserve Tax Deductions"
First TV Debate on 29th... Analysis Suggests No Impact on Trump
Donald Trump, President of the United States, and Joe Biden, Democratic presidential candidate, engage in a fierce battle in the TV debate hall [Photo by EPA Yonhap News]
[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] The U.S. Democratic Party launched a fierce attack on President Donald Trump ahead of the first presidential candidate TV debate, mentioning issues such as tax evasion and Supreme Court nominations. Their strategy is to undermine President Trump's momentum in the first debate and gain an advantage in the presidential election just over a month away.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, in an interview with MSNBC on the 28th (local time), highlighted the issue of President Trump not paying taxes for 10 years while carrying enormous debt, calling it "a matter of national security." She stated, "The president's debt is a problem on a different level," and pointed out, "It is unclear to whom he owes money and whether it involves other countries that could influence the president."
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden quickly posted a video ad on Twitter the previous day stating, "Even teachers pay more taxes than President Trump," followed by another ad on the same day saying, "You pay more taxes than Trump." In particular, there are expectations that the Democratic Party will shift further left on their platform starting with this debate. Biden pledged to impose higher taxes on high-income earners making over $400,000 annually and corporations, linking it to Trump's tax evasion. A major foreign news outlet cited Moody's Analytics, reporting that "if Biden is elected, he will secure additional tax revenue from rate increases and carry out public investments worth $3.9 trillion during his first term."
President Trump also responded. On the same day, he claimed, "I paid millions of dollars in taxes, but like everyone else, I was entitled to depreciation and tax credits." He emphasized that his use of business losses to claim tax deductions was legitimate. Trump defended himself against Pelosi's pointed debt issue by stating, "There is almost no debt compared to asset value." Earlier, The New York Times reported that Trump paid only $750 in income tax annually in 2016 and the following year when he was elected president, and that for 10 of the past 15 years, he reported losses exceeding income, resulting in no federal income tax payments.
In the upcoming TV debate, President Trump is expected to relentlessly probe Biden's health. The day before, Trump suggested to Biden's camp, "Let's take a drug test before the debate," mocking Biden's status as the oldest president at the time of inauguration next year.
Trump is also expected to emphasize rapid testing for COVID-19. At a briefing held that day, he announced that with federal government support, 150 million rapid tests could be available within weeks.
Although the TV debate is considered the biggest event of the U.S. presidential election, some analyses suggest that the damage to President Trump may not be significant. Kim Dong-seok, a U.S. political expert and head of the Korean American Grassroots Coalition (KAGC), commented on the debate outlook, saying, "Voters' expectations for Trump are at 40 points, while Biden's are at 80 points. Trump has nothing to lose even if he makes mistakes in the TV debate, but Biden is different."
He predicted that during the debate, President Trump would relentlessly target Biden's age, stamina, and verbal slips. Considering controversies over mail-in voting and the potential involvement of the Supreme Court, Kim forecasted a Trump advantage, suggesting that Trump has a possibility of remaining the White House occupant for the next four years.
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