Trump says he's OK with taxing the rich but warns of political fallout

By Susan Heavey, Bo Erickson and Jeff Mason

WASHINGTON, May 9 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday he was "OK" with raising taxes on the wealthiest Americans, as his fellow Republicans consider scaling back the scope of the ambitious tax-cut package they aim to pass this year.

"Republicans should probably not do it, but I'm OK if they do!!!" Trump wrote in a post on his social media platform.

Speaking to reporters later at the White House, Trump gave a stronger endorsement.

"I would love to do it, frankly," he said in the Oval Office. "What you're doing is you're giving up something up top in order to make people in the middle income and the lower income brackets save more. So it's really a redistribution, and I'm willing to do it if they want."

Trump, a wealthy businessman with properties all over the world, indicated he would be willing to pay more in taxes himself. "I would love to be able to give people in a lower bracket a big break by giving up some of what I have."

The Senate's top Republican, John Thune, said he was not enthusiastic about the idea. "We don't want to raise taxes on anybody. I mean, we're about lowering taxes on Americans," he said on Fox News.

Trump's message comes as U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson weighs whether to reduce the total tax package.

Johnson told some House Republicans on Thursday that he is now looking at $4 trillion in tax cuts, rather than an initial $4.5 trillion, according to a Republican aide.

Republicans are also fighting over spending cuts needed to pay for Trump's "one big beautiful bill," jeopardizing the goal of making all of the expiring provisions of his 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act permanent.

Trump privately urged Johnson this week to raise the tax rate and close the carried-interest loophole for Wall Street investors, sources told Reuters on Thursday.

The Republican president suggested an increase to 39.6% from 37% for individuals earning $2.5 million or higher and joint filers earning at least $5 million, with carve-outs for small businesses, one source said.

"I don't think they're going to be doing it, but I actually think it's good politics to do it," Trump said.

Spending cuts to Medicaid and other programs are likely to fall short of a $2 trillion goal over a decade.

Johnson and other top Republicans have resisted the idea of raising taxes on the wealthy.

But Representative Andy Harris, who chairs the ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus, said a higher top tax bracket would help pay for the Trump agenda.

"Personally, I've always believed that if we can’t find spending reductions elsewhere, we should look at restoring the pre TCJA tax bracket on million dollar income," the Maryland Republican wrote on X.

Trump views higher taxes on the rich as a way to help pay for massive middle and working-class tax cuts, and to protect Medicaid, the healthcare program for lower-income Americans.

But the president warned on Friday that Democrats would seize on "even a 'TINY' tax increase for the 'RICH,'" citing former Republican President George H.W. Bush, who lost his 1992 re-election bid after breaking his promise not to hike taxes.

Trump and Republican lawmakers have cited the potential extension of the 2017 tax cuts as relief for Americans and an economic boost amid Trump's tariffs on imported goods.

They have vowed to enact the extension as part of a larger budget bill that would also fund border security, the deportation of undocumented immigrants, energy deregulation and a plus-up in military spending.