Trump: ‘Massive tax relief’ would be ‘best Christmas present of all’

President Trump argued Tuesday that the GOP’s upcoming push for tax reform represented potentially the “best Christmas present of all.”

In a speech to the conservative Heritage Foundation, Trump said that he wants to deliver “massive tax relief” to American families.

{mosads}

“So let’s give our country the best Christmas present of all — massive tax relief,” Trump said, before delving into riff about saying “Merry Christmas” instead of “happy holidays.”

“And speaking of Christmas,” Trump continued, “You know I’m just talking about Christmas, I’ll give you a bigger Christmas present: You’re gonna be saying ‘Merry Christmas’ again.”

“You know, you go to the stores, they have the red walls, they have the snow, they even have the sleigh. The whole thing. [But] they don’t have ‘Merry Christmas,’ ” Trump continued.

“I want them to say ‘Merry Christmas, everybody.’ Happy New Year, happy holidays, but I want ‘Merry Christmas.’ “

Trump has frequently accused liberals of making Christians uncomfortable to use the holiday greeting. His remarks Tuesday echoed comments he made last week at a speech to the Values Voter Summit.

“We’re getting near that beautiful Christmas season that people don’t talk about anymore. They don’t use the word Christmas because it’s not politically correct,” he said.

“You go to department stores and they’ll say ‘Happy New Year,’ or they’ll say other things and it’ll be red, they’ll have it painted. But they don’t say — well guess what? We’re saying merry Christmas again.” 

Trump appeared at the conservative think tank event on Tuesday to pitch his tax reform plan, which the GOP-led Congress is expected to tax up in the coming months as its major agenda item after efforts to repeal ObamaCare collapsed in the Senate this year.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told Fox News earlier Tuesday evening that it would be “extraordinary” to finish tax reform by the end of the year.

“Our objective is to get it on the president’s desk by December to get him to sign it this year,” Mnuchin told Bret Baier on Fox News’s “Special Report.”