Trump, "I Will Not Sign Stimulus Bill Without Payroll Tax Cut"

Pressure to Cut Payroll Taxes Against Biden's Tax Increase Policy
Ambiguous Response on Concession if Losing Presidential Election

President Trump is playing golf on the 19th. [Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] U.S. President Donald Trump stated that he is considering not signing a stimulus bill that does not include a payroll tax cut. He did not give a clear answer on whether he would accept the results if he loses the presidential election on November 3, which is expected to spark controversy.

In an interview with Fox News aired on the 19th (local time), President Trump made this claim regarding the payroll tax, which had previously been opposed by many Democrats and a significant number of Republican lawmakers. He pressured for the passage of the payroll tax cut, saying, "Many Republicans want it."

President Trump had hoped for a payroll tax cut after the outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), but abandoned the claim after strong opposition from the Democrats.

It is interpreted that President Trump intends to respond to the expected consumption cliff following the end of the expanded unemployment benefits at the end of this month through the payroll tax cut.

This contrasts with former Vice President Joe Biden's recent promise to restore corporate tax rates to the Obama administration level if elected.

The U.S. Democrats and Republicans are seeking ways to prepare a new stimulus bill within this month, but they have not reached an agreement due to differences over extending the expanded unemployment benefits. Relatedly, The Washington Post reported that the Republicans are discussing lowering the current expanded unemployment benefits of $600 per week to between $200 and $400.

In the interview, President Trump said, "The economy will expand and grow beautifully," claiming that the economy is recovering and that the stock market will peak on election day, November 3.

When asked about whether he would accept the election results if he loses, President Trump repeated, "I am not someone who accepts (defeat) cleanly," and "I hate losing."

He added, "You don't know until you see (the results). It depends on the situation," repeatedly raising suspicions of election fraud in mail-in voting.

When asked if he was implying that he might not accept the election results, President Trump refused to give a clear answer, saying, "No. I have to see." When the interviewer pressed again, "Will you accept the results?" he only said, "No. I won't say yes, and I won't say no."

He also claimed, "I am not losing. Those are fake polls." According to a Washington Post poll released the previous day, the gap in support between President Trump and Democratic candidate former Vice President Joe Biden widened to 15 percentage points.

Despite the resurgence of COVID-19, with the number of deaths in the U.S. surpassing 140,000 as of the previous day, President Trump claimed that the virus is under control.

President Trump mentioned that he has a "great relationship" with Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), but added, "(He is) somewhat of a worrywart."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.