On a recent episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, former President Trump discussed his plan to eliminate federal income tax, proposing tariffs on imports as a primary funding source for the U.S. government. Trump cited former President William McKinley’s 1890s tariff policies as a model, claiming they generated ample revenue without income taxes.
He explained, “We had so much money, we didn’t know what to do with it, so they set up a blue-ribbon commission on tariffs to decide how to spend it.”
Critics argue that tariffs would drive up consumer costs, effectively imposing a “hidden tax” on American households. Trump, however, insists tariffs would bolster the dollar, protect American jobs, and make U.S. exports more competitive.
Trump has also hinted at using Bitcoin (BTC) to address the $35 trillion national debt. In a conversation with Maria Bartiromo on Fox News, he suggested paying creditors with Bitcoin, saying, “Handing them a little Bitcoin” could effectively “wipe away our $35 trillion.”
Bryan Courchesne, an asset manager, noted that the U.S. could theoretically establish a Bitcoin reserve by transferring roughly 200,000 BTC seized through law enforcement into the U.S. Treasury. However, bureaucratic obstacles would complicate this process.
This Bitcoin reserve idea has attracted interest from other politicians as well. Former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. previously suggested Bitcoin as a potential stabilizer for the U.S. dollar earlier this year.