On Monday, Donald Trump pushed back at what he called "mischaracterizations" about his ideas to cut the nation's debt, telling Fox Business Network's Maria Bartiromo that his statements should not be interpreted into sounding as if he'd allow the United States to default on its debts.
"All I said is that if interest rates go up, we'll have a chance to buy back bonds at a discount, which is standard," he told Bartiromo on her Fox Business Network program, "Mornings With Maria." "Certainly I'm not talking about renegotiating with creditors," Trump claimed.
"With the United States government, that we can buy back bonds at a discount, that's a wonderful thing," said Trump. "But if interest rates go up,you'll be given that opportunity because bonds will go down .. .that's what I was talking about."
His comments came after
The New York Times, reporting on an appearance Trump made on CNBC last week, said the presumptive nominee had suggested that he could reduce the nation's debt by getting creditors to take less than full payment, and that he'd be willing to borrow, "knowing that if the economy crashed, you could make a deal.”
Further, he complained that NBC's Chuck Todd "misrepresented" his tax policy plans, and that he considers them instead a proposal.
"I'm really going to fight hard because the middle-class has been decimated in this country," said Trump."I am not raising it and I'm not raising it on this, but I can see the wealthy getting raised...with this very low tax that I put in, the biggest of anybody I may have to raise it from that point. The media picks it up that Trump wants a tax increase."
Trump on Monday also said that he would like to leave it up to individual states about what to do with the minimum wage, as they all have different costs of living, and"$7.25 an hour is pretty tough."
"I would leave it to the states because the states have to compete with each other," he said. "They have to compete with outside interests."
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Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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