Trump Says He’s Ready to Eliminate Income Tax, Echoes ‘Enemy Within’ Rhetoric on Podcast with Joe Rogan

Former President Donald Trump said on Joe Rogan’s podcast Friday that he is willing to eliminate the income tax, while promoting his sweeping tariff proposal and praising the economic policies of the late 19th century.

Speaking about tariffs, Rogan asked Trump: “Have you just floated the idea of ​​getting rid of the income tax and replacing it with tariffs?”

“Okay,” Trump said during an interview on “The Joe Rogan Experience.”

Rogan asked, “Did you mean that?”

“Yes, sure. Why not?” the former president responded. “Because, let’s face it, our country was the richest country in, comparatively, the 1880s and 1890s. The assassinated president named McKinley – he was the tariff king. He spoke beautifully about tariffs.”

“And then, around the early 1900s, they stupidly moved to an outright income tax. And do you know why? Because countries put a lot of pressure on America: “We don’t want to pay tariffs, please don’t.” You know, believe me, they control our politicians,” Trump said.

Trump has repeatedly stated that he plans to introduce general tariff 10% or 20% on every import entering the US, as well as a 60% tariff increase on all Chinese imports in an attempt to stimulate American production.

In the interview, Trump also said he believes what he called the “enemy from within” poses a greater threat to the United States than North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, with whom he said he had “no problem.” while he was president.

“I got to know him very well. We had no problems with him. If you have a smart problem, if you have a smart, really correct president, a smart president, you won’t have problems. And I tell people this: In my opinion, we have a bigger problem with the enemy from within, and it drives them crazy when I use that term. But we have an enemy from within. We have some really bad people who I think really want to make this country a failure,” Trump said.

Trump has repeatedly said there are people in the United States, including Democratic Reps. Adam Schiff and Nancy Pelosi as examples, who pose a greater threat than foreign adversaries.

Rogan’s refusal to accept Trump

The interview comes after years of Rogan saying he would not include the former president on his podcast and recent attacks from Trump himself.

“I am not a Trump supporter in any way shape or form. I had the opportunity to invite him to my show more than once. I said no every time. I don’t want to help him. I’m not interested in helping him,” Rogan. said on Lex Friedman’s podcast in 2022.

Trump took a swipe at Rogan in August after the podcaster praised former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for being “the only one who makes sense to me.” (Rogan later clarified that his praise did not amount to for approval.)

“Will it be interesting to see how loudly Joe Rogan gets booed the next time he steps into a UFC ring??? MAGA2024″, Trump posted on his platform Truth Social after Rogan’s comments.

Rogan first launched his podcast in 2009. Over the past three years, The Joe Rogan Experience has consistently been the #1 podcast in the world. The show has also generated its fair share of controversy, particularly coming under fire during the pandemic due to Rogan’s skepticism. about Covid-19.

After recording a podcast in Texas, Trump attended a rally in Michiganwhere he took the stage to perform several hours late – a delay that caused hundreds of people to leave the event. Trump said he was late because he was taping a three-hour podcast with Rogan, which he called “the longest interview I’ve ever done in my life.”

“I’m very sorry, but I’ve been tied up. … I thought you wouldn’t mind so much because we’re trying to win,” he said.

Trump during his speech accused Vice President Kamala Harris of “partying” and ignoring international unrest on Friday as the Democratic presidential nominee. held a rally with the participation of music superstar Beyoncé in Texas, where she focused her speech on reproductive rights.

CNN’s Alaina Trinh, DJ Judd and Ali Main contributed to this report.

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