President Joe Biden reiterated support on Tuesday for a proposed new tax targeting billionaires, saying at an event in Virginia Beach that “I want to make it clear—I’m going to raise some taxes,” which some right-wing social media accounts seized on and shared without the context about billionaires.
After remarking he was going to raise taxes, Biden signaled any tax hikes would only apply to the richest Americans, saying: “Many of you billionaires out there—you’re going to stop paying 3%.”
Biden voiced support for a new billionaire tax in his State of the Union address earlier this month, though he did not lay out specifics of a tax plan.
Numerous right-wing social media users and media outlets misleadingly cited the comments as evidence Biden is planning broad tax hikes, after RNC Research—a Twitter account affiliated with the Republican National Committee—shared a 4-second video clip that cut off Biden’s remarks about billionaires.
