White House Issues 72-Page Report Slamming ‘Socialism’ As Trump Blasts Democrats
The Trump administration released a 72-page manifesto articulating the ills of socialism on Tuesday on the heels of President Donald Trump’s recent claims that his political opponents will turn the U.S. into “the next Venezuela” if they succeed in the upcoming midterm elections.
The report published by the Council of Economic Advisers warns that “socialism is making a comeback in American political discourse,” and zeroes in on proposals to enact “Medicare for all” championed by progressive lawmakers.
The report comes between an op-ed by Trump in USA Today decrying government-run health-care proposals — which included a series of claims that were subsequently torn apart by fact-checkers — and the midterm elections in November, where Democrats are favored in most generic ballot polls to reclaim a majority in the House of Representatives.
“It is not unusual for the White House to issue statements that reinforce the political themes the president’s party is campaigning on before an election,” said veteran election attorney Brett Kappel, a partner at Akerman. “But it is very unusual for the Council of Economic Advisers — a supposedly nonpartisan body of experts — to be used for this purpose,” he said.
In a conference call with reporters Tuesday morning, the council’s chairman, Kevin Hassett, said that “proposals on the table, like the Medicare for all proposal,” are “very consistent with the design of socialism.”
He added that his role on the economic council “isn’t to be a politician, it’s to be an analyst.”
Hassett did not reveal how much time and money were spent on the report.
