President Trump’s former speechwriter, Frank Buckley, said Thursday that the GOP-controlled Congress pushed the president to the right, particularly on tax reform.
“There were a lot of horrible things that were left in the tax code that should’ve been gotten out,” Buckley told Hill.TV’s Krystal Ball and Saagar Enjeti on “Rising.”
“I would have been quite happy to see taxes raised on people making $500,000 a year for example. That would have been totally consistent from where we were coming from, but we’re talking about the separation of powers where things don’t happen quickly,” he added.
During the 2016 primary season Trump often took approaches that were at odds with GOP opponents, such as appealing to unions and calling for new restrictions on trade.
Buckley also lamented the current state of the GOP, saying it’s divided between Trump supporters and the party establishment that’s aligned with lawmakers like Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.).
“The Republican Party is in shambles, it’s completely split apart,” he said. “We need a series of elections where roughly the Paul Ryan establishment wing completely disappears. Right now, the establishment Republicans [are] running against Trump.”
— Julia Manchester
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