OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
President Joe Biden was heavily criticized for a series of tweets over the weekend that critics deemed inappropriate as war raged in Israel following a surprise attack by the terrorist group Hamas.
On Sunday morning, for instance, Biden’s X account tweeted about his policy of providing “student debt relief” to some borrowers, which, in and of itself, is highly controversial, even without a new war brewing in the volatile Middle East.
“We’ve never walked away from that sense of possibility that drives this country. Delivering student debt relief to borrowers that need it is about extending the power of possibilities to every American. Not just those at the top,” his account posted.
We’ve never walked away from that sense of possibility that drives this country.
Delivering student debt relief to borrowers that need it is about extending the power of possibilities to every American.
Not just those at the top. pic.twitter.com/3aJ7sDuw0K
— President Biden (@POTUS) October 8, 2023
The tone-deaf untimeliness of the tweet generated no shortage of criticism.
Kristopher J. Anderson of Turning Point Action responded, “Democrats funded the attacks on Israel.”
Another X user wrote: “The world is on fire, and this is what you tweet.. you are the most disgusting human being and president this country has ever had.”
“Americans were murdered and taken hostage in Israel because YOU gave Iran $6 billion dollars on the anniversary of 9/11, and you tweet this dumb shit?” another wrote.
“Israel is under attack and you are worried about shifting people’s education debt to taxpayers??? You are corrupt !!!!!!” said another.
Not long after, Biden’s account tweeted another seemingly inappropriate message, given the gravity of the situation — a declaration of war — in Israel.
“I’m a capitalist. If you can make a billion dollars, go get it. Just pay a little more in taxes. It’s time billionaires pay a 25% minimum tax,” Biden’s account posted.
To which Republican voting activist Scott Pressler responded: “So, how much does Iran pay when you gift our enemy $6 billion? Israel pays a blood tax.”
“Tell Hunter to pay his taxes,” another user said.
“The problem with America isn’t billionaires not paying in taxes, it’s the government wasting the tax dollars we do get and borrowing more. You are the problem,” Right Wing News founder John Hawkins added.
“The money anyone makes is not yours Mr. President. Millionaires and billionaires pay huge amounts of tax across the board. It’s not popular to say so but it is in fact true,” James Hutton, retired U.S. Army colonel and former assistant secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, added.
Regarding Biden’s ‘tax the rich’ scheme, the U.S. Supreme Court might have something to say about it, especially after ruling earlier this year that his blanket $430 billion-plus student loan forgiveness was unconstitutional.
Moore v. United States, for example, could have the greatest influence on Biden, though the court has several other major cases to consider. That debate centers on Biden’s frequently expressed desire for a wealth tax and whether it could be implemented.
The central question in the case is, according to SCOTUS Blog, “Whether the 16th Amendment authorizes Congress to tax unrealized sums without apportionment among the states.” That amendment, of course, allowed the Legislative Branch, for the first time in the country’s history, to legally impose an income tax.
“Biden later proposed a 25% annual tax on all gains to wealth in excess of $100 million in a given year, including unrealized capital gains which aren’t currently taxable. The White House says that the tax would only apply to the top 0.01% of the highest earners. While the proposal faces long odds with a Republican-controlled House of Representatives, it could be nixed permanently if the high court rules such a tax is unconstitutional,” The Washington Examiner reported.
Several groups have filed amicus briefs in the case, including the libertarian CATO Institute, which argued that under the Constitution, Biden’s action would be impermissible.
“Since the ratification of the Sixteenth Amendment, this Court has consistently interpreted ‘income’ as referring to amounts that the taxpayer realizes in a particular accounting period,” the group’s brief, filed in March, states. “Therefore, this Court has consistently treated contemporaneous realization of income as a constitutional prerequisite to a tax that is not subject to the apportionment requirement set forth in Article I.”
