President Donald Trump dodged a question about whether he would veto a housing bill by touting his housing expertise, drawing harsh online criticism.
In an unprecedented move, Trump canceled the signing of a housing affordability bill on Wednesday despite bipartisan support and a final passage by Congress the night before. Trump canceled the signing because he's demanding Congress pass the SAVE America Act, his voter-ID bill, first.
A reporter later asked him if he planned to veto the bill as well. Trump responded, "Look, I made billions of dollars with housing. I know housing better than anybody, maybe anywhere."
Rather than give a yes or no, Trump added, "It's all about the interest rate. I don't want to hurt people who own houses, too."
In an X post, Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) reacted to Trump's answer by writing, "He is a coward. He won't veto the bill."
"He wants housing to stay expensive," economic analyst Tahra Hoops suggested. "It's a boomer economy, and the young people get nothing except TikTok back and prediction markets to lose whatever cents you still have."
Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ) reacted to Trump's boastful comments by writing, "Who cares? Sign the bill."
"Trump has been consistent about one thing in housing policy," added Punchbowl News senior reporter Brendan Pedersen. "Not wanting the value of homes to go down for homeowners. He has said that repeatedly for months."
"Again: maybe electing a slumlord twice wasn't a good idea," political writer Mary Pezzulo posted.
"Trump, once again, is proving that he's not about making housing affordable for Americans," added Kelsie Taggart, the vice president of American Bridge 21st Century, a liberal super PAC.
"It sounds here like Trump has actual policy problems with the housing bill," Jake Sherman, the founder of Punchbowl News, speculated. "He seems to say it will hurt current home owners. He may just veto this."