Biden Faces War Backlash After Billionaire Tax Tweet

President Joe Biden is facing some backlash after he suggested that a tax on billionaires could generate hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue for the U.S. government, but critics questioned whether the cash would go to fund military entanglements abroad.

Biden posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, that a billionaire minimum tax of 25 percent would raise $440 billion over the next decade.

"Imagine what we could do if we just made billionaires pay their taxes like everyone else," Biden wrote.

But Jo Jorgensen, president of People for Liberty and a 2020 Libertarian Party presidential nominee, replied to the tweet questioning whether the fund might be used for financing war.

"Bomb more people over seas [sic]?" Jorgensen wrote on X.

A White House official disputed the suggestion that the proposal was about raising funds for conflict.

"The President believes we should lower the deficit by making the super-wealthy and biggest corporations pay their fair share," the White House official told Newsweek in an emailed statement. "No where in the tweet does it suggest it would 'be used to fund conflicts abroad.'"

Newsweek contacted Jorgensen through her organization People for Liberty for comment via email on Thursday.

Lars Mapstead, who is running for president as a Libertarian, was also critical of the proposal and suggested that Biden was "virtue signaling."

"Americans deserve leadership that presents actual solutions," he told Newsweek via email. "Unrigging the system for average Americans requires serious planning, not cynical pandering."

He added: "This pandering is why so many Democrats are leaving Biden and joining the ranks of independents and third parties in droves."

Another user on X by the name of Francesco Sullo also questioned how the funds would be spent.

Jorgensen and others who questioned Biden online illustrate the skepticism Biden faces over providing military support for countries like Ukraine in its fight against Russia and Israel in its war in Gaza.

Biden Seeks Billions for Ukraine, Israel

Biden has asked Congress to provide more than $100 billion worth of funding for Ukraine and Israel, with some of the cash earmarked for humanitarian aid for Palestinians in Gaza. The Ukrainian portion of the funding amounts to more than $60 billion.

But the request has been mired in deadlock with some Republican legislators in the House of Representatives reluctant to approve more monetary support to Ukraine. The GOP-led House has approved funding for Israel, but the White House has said in the past that it would prefer the funding package include aid for both countries.

Support for military aid has plummeted in recent months. More than 40 percent of Americans think that the U.S. "is doing too much" to help Ukraine, according to a Gallup poll, nearly double from August of last year. The poll found that 62 percent of Republicans share in that view along with 44 percent of independents whereas only 14 percent of Democrats thought America was doing too much.

Most Americans Support Israel

Meanwhile, when it comes to Israel, majority of Americans support Israel in its war in Gaza, according to a November PBS NewsHour/NPR/Marist poll. But Biden is facing a split within his party where about 46 percent of Democrats disapprove of his handling of the conflict with 50 percent approving, illustrating the challenge the president is facing on the issue.

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, who is an Independent but caucuses with Democrats, recently called for "conditioning aid" to Israel that will include "an end to the indiscriminate bombing which has taken thousands of civilian lives and a significant pause in military operations so that massive humanitarian assistance can come into the region," he said in a statement.

The Israel - Palestine conflict escalated after the Gaza-based Hamas militant group attacked Israel on October 7, leading to 1,200 deaths, according to the Associated Press. The Israeli military's response has led to the deaths of more than 13,000 Palestinians, according to AP. Over the last week, a truce has been instituted in the fighting to allow for the release of Israeli hostages captured on October 7 and Palestinians detained by Israel.

The U.S. provides $3.8 billion a year in aid to Israel, according to Sanders. Meanwhile, since the war began in Ukraine in early 2022, America has given more than $75 billion in funding to Ukraine, according to data from the Council on Foreign Relations.

Update: 11/30/23, 8:50 p.m. ET: This article was updated to add comment by a White House official.

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