President Trump on Thursday used the situation in Venezuela to blast Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s idea of a 70 percent marginal tax for the rich. 

When asked a question about the troubled nation, Trump replied, “It’s a very sad situation.  That was the richest state in all of that area.  That’s a big, beautiful area—and by far the richest—and now it’s one of the poorest places in the world.” 

“That’s what socialism gets you when they want to raise your taxes to 70 percent,” Trump continued. “ I’ve been watching our opponents are future opponents talking about 70 percent.  Number one, they can’t do it for 70 percent.  It’s got to be probably twice that number.  But maybe more importantly what happens is you really have to study and take a look at what’s happened to Venezuela.” 

18 PHOTOS Desolate grocery stores show dire food crisis in Venezuela See Gallery Desolate grocery stores show dire food crisis in Venezuela A woman selects goat cheese from partially empty refrigerators at a supermarket in Caracas, Venezuela January 10, 2018.  REUTERS/Marco Bello Workers sit on empty shelves at the fruit and vegetables area in a supermarket in Caracas, Venezuela January 10, 2018.  REUTERS/Marco Bello Empty refrigerators are seen at the fish area in a supermarket in Caracas, Venezuela January 10, 2018.  REUTERS/Marco Bello A woman stands in front of partially empty refrigerators at a supermarket in Caracas, Venezuela January 10, 2018.  REUTERS/Marco Bello Police officers stand guard outside a supermarket in Caracas, Venezuela January 10, 2018.  REUTERS/Marco Bello A woman selects lemons from partially empty shelves at the fruits and vegetables area in a supermarket in Caracas, Venezuela January 10, 2018.  REUTERS/Marco Bello A man walks past empty shelves at the bakery area in a supermarket in Caracas, Venezuela January 10, 2018.  REUTERS/Marco Bello A woman walks past empty shelves at the fruits and vegetables area in a supermarket in Caracas, Venezuela January 10, 2018.  REUTERS/Marco Bello Stacked shopping carts are seen next to empty refrigerators at the deli area at a supermarket in Caracas, Venezuela January 10, 2018.  REUTERS/Marco Bello Police officers control the crowd as people line up to buy sugar, outside a supermarket in Caracas, Venezuela January 10, 2018.  REUTERS/Marco Bello People walk past empty shelves at a supermarket in Caracas, Venezuela January 9, 2018.  REUTERS/Marco Bello A woman looks at a partially empty refrigerator in a supermarket in Caracas, Venezuela January 9, 2018.  REUTERS/Marco Bello A man looks at an empty refrigerator in a supermarket in Caracas, Venezuela January 9, 2018.  REUTERS/Marco Bello A man walks past an empty refrigerator at a supermarket in Caracas, Venezuela January 9, 2018.  REUTERS/Marco Bello Empty refrigerators are seen at the butchery area in a supermarket in Caracas, Venezuela January 9, 2018.  REUTERS/Marco Bello An empty refrigerator is seen at a supermarket in Caracas, Venezuela January 9, 2018.  REUTERS/Marco Bello A woman walks past empty shelves at a supermarket in Caracas, Venezuela January 9, 2018.  REUTERS/Marco Bello A woman walks past an empty refrigerator at a supermarket in Caracas, Venezuela January 9, 2018.  REUTERS/Marco Bello Up Next See Gallery Discover More Like This HIDE CAPTION SHOW CAPTION of SEE ALL BACK TO SLIDE

Ocasio Cortez proposed a marginal tax plan in an interview with CBS’ “60 Minutes,” meaning that the higher rate would only apply to money over a certain threshold. 

“Once you get to the tippy tops, on your $10 millionth dollar, sometimes you see tax rates as high as 60 percent or 70 percent," Ocasio-Cortez said. " That doesn’t mean all $10 million dollars are taxed at an extremely high rate.  But it means that as you climb up this ladder, you should be contributing more.” 

In Ocasio-Cortez’s plan, the tax dollars would be used to tackle the problems of climate change and income inequality. 

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