Key Takeaways
- Trump proposes replacing federal income tax with import tariffs.
- He cites historical success during President McKinley's era.
- Trump also hinted at using Bitcoin to reduce national debt.
In a recent appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast, former President Donald Trump proposed eliminating federal income tax and replacing it with tariffs on imports.
He pointed to the policies of President William McKinley in the 1890s, claiming they generated so much revenue that officials struggled to spend the excess funds.
Trump explained:
We were so rich. We had so much money. We didn’t know what to do.
While critics argue tariffs would result in higher consumer prices, Trump contends that tariffs would boost demand for the U.S. dollar, protect domestic workers, and make exports more competitive.
In the same conversation, Trump also floated the idea of using Bitcoin to tackle the $35 trillion national debt, suggesting the U.S. could repay creditors by “Handing them a little Bitcoin.”
However, financial experts, like asset manager Bryan Courchesne, noted that creating a strategic Bitcoin reserve would face significant bureaucratic challenges.
