Pence: Biden's 'equity' budget shows the left doesn't believe in Americans' 'boundless potential'
Reagan and Trump were swept into office thanks to strong conservative agendas, he said.
Former VP Mike Pence releases 'freedom agenda' ahead of midterms
Mike Pence joins 'Kudlow' on FOX Business.
Former Vice President Mike Pence joined Fox Business' "Kudlow" on Thursday to discuss his "Freedom Agenda" and contrast it with President Biden's 2023 budget proposal.
Host Larry Kudlow noted that Biden's budget calls for trillions in tax hikes and an increase of 2% in economic stagnation in the out-years while continuing deficit spending.
Pence replied that the U.S. can still return to a "growth agenda" and that it starts with the potential return of Republicans to congressional leadership in the midterm elections.
"What our nation has put together with this freedom agenda is all designed to be an effort to say, look, what have we learned from Reagan to Trump that animates the conservative movement in this country?" he said.
Pence added that these same agenda points were swept Ronald Reagan into the White House in 1980 and Pence's former boss Donald Trump into office in 2016.
PENCE DOESN'T RULE OUT 2022 RUN
U.S. President Joe Biden (Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
"With the help of some great conservative leaders like Betsy DeVos, like Dave Bernhardt, Governor Scott Walker and like you, Larry, we put together an agenda that focused on American culture, on American prosperity, and American leadership and strength at home and abroad."
Focusing on Biden's massive budget proposal, Kudlow noted the text has about 100 mentions of the word "equity" instead of zeroing in on growth or prosperity.
"That means essentially not just equal opportunity at the starting line, but it means equal results and outcomes at the finish line," he said.
Pence said that fact is further revealing in that Democrats do not believe in the individualism or potential of the American people, and instead seek to make sure everyone has not an equal starting point but an equal aspiration.
"It's all about driving outcomes, as you know, Larry, and it's amazing to think that in the midst of the worst inflation in 40 years, with war raging in Europe, with a crisis on our southern border, with a crime epidemic in many of our major cities, the administration came forward this week with a budget that literally cuts military spending and increases taxes by $2.5 trillion," he said.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik / AP Newsroom)
"Our Freedom Agenda that we unveiled this morning actually calls on not raising taxes. Let's make the Trump-Pence tax cuts permanent. Let's look for additional ways to let Americans in American businesses keep more of what they earn and make it possible for us to grow our way out of this challenging economy that's that's impacting working families all across the country."
"I know [the left] believe[s] in government. I'm not sure they really believe in the boundless potential of the American people," Pence added.
"We secured our border, we rebuilt our military. We appointed conservatives to our courts at every level. We stood for the right to life. We stood for religious liberty. But at the core of that was a growth agenda, that there are very few Americans that have been greater champions of the free market and a growth agenda."
