First Lady Melania Trump and son Barron Trump welcomed the official White House Christmas tree on Monday, a continuation of a tradition that has been upheld for decades. It was a much-needed, lighter moment in Washington D.C., marking the beginning of the holiday season.
Pictures from the annual event:
The @WhiteHouse Christmas Tree has arrived, welcomed by @FLOTUS Melania Trump and son Barron pic.twitter.com/gCjHWeRXaV
— Michelle Moons (@MichelleDiana) November 20, 2017
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What’s different this year, of course, is that at the very same moment the official Christmas tree was brought to the White House, the president was inside preparing to stuff America’s stockings with a tax hike.
In a tweet on Sunday, Trump urged Senate Republicans to pass their tax reform legislation:
Republican Senators are working very hard to get Tax Cuts and Tax Reform approved. Hopefully it will not be long and they do not want to disappoint the American public!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 20, 2017
The problem? The tax plan Trump just told the GOP Senate to pass would sack middle-income folks with higher taxes. According to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, “Compared to current law, 9 percent of taxpayers would pay more in 2019, 12 percent in 2025, and 50 percent in 2027.”
Republicans have spent decades labeling Democrats as “tax and spend liberals,” but now they stand on the verge of passing a tax plan that would both raise taxes for half of Americans and bust the budget wide open.
Previously, Trump had said that he’s “going to give the American people a huge tax cut for Christmas — hopefully, that will be a great, big, beautiful Christmas present.”
He can keep repeating this lie until Santa Claus comes to town, but that won’t make it true.
Under the tree this year, Trump is leaving Americans with a ticking time bomb that will – sooner or later – force millions to fork over more money to the government, while the wealthiest Americans, as always, will continue to benefit.
This is not a “big, beautiful Christmas present.” It’s a giant lump of coal that middle-class Americans don’t deserve.
Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.
