Politics

Trump Threatens To Campaign Against Indiana Dem Senator If He Opposes Tax Reform

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Jack Crowe Political Reporter
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President Donald Trump threatened to help campaign against Democratic Sen. Joe Donnelly Wednesday, should the Indiana lawmaker fail to support Republicans’ tax reform effort.

Trump celebrated the GOP’s tax reform framework, released Wednesday, as a new “American model” that will produce jobs and increase wages for middle class Americans, and urged voters to pressure their representatives to support the plan.

“If Sen. Donnelly doesn’t approve it, because you know he’s on the other side, we will come here and we will campaign against him like you wouldn’t believe,” Trump said during a Wednesday speech in Indiana.

Trump uncharacteristically emphasized the importance of bipartisan support for the plan and said he believed Democrats would support the proposed framework because “it’s the right thing to do.”

“I think they’re gonna approve it. Actually I think we’ll have numerous Democrats come across because it’s the right thing to do,” Trump said.

Donnelly said he was open to working with Republicans on the framework, which consists of a simplified three-bracket tax system that cuts rates for individuals, small businesses and corporations, but said he would not be pressured into acting against the interests of his constituents.

“I work for Hoosiers, not President Trump or any political party,” Donnelly said in a statement. “As it stands, the framework released today is missing many details that will be critical to determining whether working- and middle-class families truly stand to benefit. These Hoosiers will be foremost in my mind as I continue to engage with my colleagues in the Senate and also with the White House to try to craft a tax reform bill that will provide greater economic security to these families and also create and protect jobs here in Indiana.”

Donnelly is up for reelection in 2018 in a state that Trump won overwhelmingly by 20 points in 2016. There are currently six Republicans competing for the opportunity run against Donnelly.

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