Bill Clinton: Media Shouldn’t Be Describing Budget Battle As ‘Class Warfare’

Former President Bill Clinton told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer he’s not a fan of how many reporters continue to describe the Democratic argument for increasing taxes on the rich as “class warfare.” Pointing out that the disparity between rich and poor Americans has grown immensely in the last thirty years is not waging class warfare, Clinton argues, and instead when the country is in trouble, everyone should be prepared to sacrifice.

Clinton also wanted it to be clear that if you raise taxes “you’re not anti-business.” He suggested “what our goal should be – to go back to being the country with the biggest middle class in the world and broadly shared.” Blitzer recited one Republican argument against raising taxes, since the top 2% of Americans already pay much of the federal income tax, while half of the people in America pay no income tax. Clinton responded that’s exactly the way it should be, especially because “the top 1% also got 43% of the income gains in the last decade.”

Clinton said he didn’t see President Obama’s press conference to know whether Obama’s tone was too combative, yet with Clinton’s past success at reaching compromises with congressional Republicans, maybe he’s trying to help Obama set a new tone? And in the process, attempting to discourage reporters from using certain words to describe the ongoing negotiations.

Watch the clip from CNN below:

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