The following is the exchange between the Democratic National Committee vice chairman and Kornacki (there was significant crosstalk at times, so the transcript had to be edited for clarity):
KORNACKI: Talking about those every day folks out there you're trying to win over. The Republican message, certainly from Donald Trump, is – gonna run on the tax cut, gonna run on the Republicans voting at the end of last year, Trump signing a tax cut. Your criticism of it as Democrats was you said, "Wow, the rich are getting way too much here." But the fact is, working people, they did get something. So let me just ask you this: is the Democratic message to those working folks that you can keep the tax cut that you got from Donald Trump? Or is the message: repeal the tax cut?
ELLISON: I think the message for the richest folks who got the tax cut, the big companies, needs to be repeal 'em. I mean, I have no idea why [the] corporate tax rate needs to drop from 35% to 20%; why we need to essentially cut the estates tax, which only the richest people benefit from. I mean, look, folks know that they have been limping along for forty years. What they want to know is, how are we going to live the American dream, which is, how are we gonna create a society where our kids can expect to do better than us? Nothing about these tax cuts indicates that. In fact, the working folks tax cuts, to the degree that they exist at all, are temporary, and the big companies’ tax cuts are permanent. So we're going to be arguing about how we can do better; how you can look forward to a better life. That's what we're talking about.
KORNACKI: I want to get a direct answer. They're temporary, but they do go for a number of years here. So, is the message to those working folks – and I'm not talking the corporations here; I'm not talking the one percent – I'm talking the working folks, the folks who have it in their paycheck for instance. Is the message that if Democrats get control of the House that, "Hey, we don't think it was enough; we think it was too small, but you can keep the tax cut you got"? Or is the message, "that tax cut's going away"?
ELLISON: Look, the problematic tax cuts are the one that blow a massive hole in our budget next year. Those are the problems. You know, the problem is not that working people get a few bucks here and there – they need a future, not some small money so that Trump can [give] buckets of money to the richest people in the country. People are smart; they know that they're being played.
WATCH: Rep. Keith Ellison Repeatedly Dodges Questions About Dems Raising Taxes On The Middle Class If They Win Big In November
Ellison must be a poster on this Forum
KORNACKI: Talking about those every day folks out there you're trying to win over. The Republican message, certainly from Donald Trump, is – gonna run on the tax cut, gonna run on the Republicans voting at the end of last year, Trump signing a tax cut. Your criticism of it as Democrats was you said, "Wow, the rich are getting way too much here." But the fact is, working people, they did get something. So let me just ask you this: is the Democratic message to those working folks that you can keep the tax cut that you got from Donald Trump? Or is the message: repeal the tax cut?
ELLISON: I think the message for the richest folks who got the tax cut, the big companies, needs to be repeal 'em. I mean, I have no idea why [the] corporate tax rate needs to drop from 35% to 20%; why we need to essentially cut the estates tax, which only the richest people benefit from. I mean, look, folks know that they have been limping along for forty years. What they want to know is, how are we going to live the American dream, which is, how are we gonna create a society where our kids can expect to do better than us? Nothing about these tax cuts indicates that. In fact, the working folks tax cuts, to the degree that they exist at all, are temporary, and the big companies’ tax cuts are permanent. So we're going to be arguing about how we can do better; how you can look forward to a better life. That's what we're talking about.
KORNACKI: I want to get a direct answer. They're temporary, but they do go for a number of years here. So, is the message to those working folks – and I'm not talking the corporations here; I'm not talking the one percent – I'm talking the working folks, the folks who have it in their paycheck for instance. Is the message that if Democrats get control of the House that, "Hey, we don't think it was enough; we think it was too small, but you can keep the tax cut you got"? Or is the message, "that tax cut's going away"?
ELLISON: Look, the problematic tax cuts are the one
WATCH: Rep. Keith Ellison Repeatedly Dodges Questions About Dems Raising Taxes On The Middle Class If They Win Big In November
Ellison must be a poster on this Forum