Even as President Donald Trump tries to keep Republicans in control of Congress by offering voters $5,000 if they win, his fellow conservatives are denouncing a business leader for advocating the supposedly socialistic idea of raising taxes on the rich.
“Scott Kirby, the CEO of United Airlines, is under scrutiny from conservative politicians and commentators for saying wealth inequality is a ‘danger to society’ and calling for a national wealth and inheritance tax in a recent interview,” reported The Guardian’s Gaya Gupta on Tuesday. “Talking to the New York Times, Kirby was asked about the growing public distrust of CEOs and whether he felt any responsibility to quell that distrust.”
Kirby said in the controversial statement, “We should have a national wealth tax – it won’t work by state because people will just move. And I think we should have inheritance taxes that get close to 100 percent at some level. I would pay them.”
Gupta described the reaction as heated.
“In response, headlines from Fox Business and the New York Post decried that Kirby made $32 [million] in 2025,” Gupta wrote. “In response to Kirby’s comments, Glenn Beck, a former Fox News host, and other users on X called for a boycott of United Airlines. Jeff Landry, Louisiana’s governor, said the statement was ‘audacious.'”
Landy wrote on X, “How audacious from a guy that didn’t even build @united and makes $32 million a year.” After suggesting that Kirby donate to the government, he said, “better yet, he should distribute his salary to the employees at the bottom of the ladder @united!”
He concluded, “Let’s see you step up and place your money where your mouth is!”
These reactions are consistent with the Trump era emphasis on opposing anyone who advocates wealth redistribution, characterizing such policies as inherently socialistic. In the process, Trump and his supporters harken back to political methods that succeeded for the Republican Party in the 1950s and 1980s.
“These are not mere political disagreements, like differences over taxes or regulations,” Trump said in a July speech. “Communism is a mortal threat to American liberty. … The godless communist morality states that anything is justified to bring about inhuman visions. … They don’t want good, they don’t love God, and they don’t want God.”
Despite this rhetoric, Trump has been accused by fellow conservatives as well as non-conservatives of supporting socialistic policies despite saying he opposes socialism. This includes his proposed $5,000 giveaway to every American adult if Republicans reclaim Congress, his stakes and shares in businesses that work with the government and his use of tariffs to help loyalists at the expense of those without connections to the state.