Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin Slammed At UCLA, Blocks Video Release

United States Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin blocked the release of a video that showed him being slammed at by students from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) on Monday, where he was speaking on a wide range of topics related to business and finance, Los Angeles Times reported.

The Treasury secretary’s attempt to bury the video of the event — attended by 400 people — went in vain after it was posted on social media by the attendees at the event. On Monday, Kai Ryssdal, host of the public radio show “Marketplace,” interviewed Mnuchin at the UCLA Anderson School of Management's Korn Convocation Hall.

Peggy McInerny, a university spokeswoman, said the Treasury Department rescinded an agreement made with the university to post the video of the interview on its website. However, some students present at the event recorded the interview and posted them on socialmedia platforms. Marketplace posted an audio of the event Wednesday.

Mnuchin appeared agitated at Rysdall's questions that centered on the Tax Reform Bill, which cut corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 20 percent.

The legislation that was heavily censured by the masses, with critics claiming it benefits the wealthy, was defended by Mnuchin, who said the tax plan would pay for itself through economic growth. Mnuchin, on multiple occasions, had said the Republicans' $1.5 trillion tax overhaul would pay for itself and promised to produce an analysis by Treasury Department on how the plan would be paid for. However, the analysis promised by the treasury secretary is yet to be produced.

During the interview, Mnuchin was interrupted by the students, who expressed their frustration on the Trump administration’s policies. They were dragged away by the police.

Before being dragged away by the police, one student yelled across the room, "Attacking people who are in poverty! Taking away health care! Taking away social security! When black and brown people won't have anything to eat! And what is this money going to go to? To the military, to create more nuclear weapons!"

A sixth grader present at the event questioned Mnuchin on the tax cuts and received a big round of applause from the room.

The sixth grader asked Mnuchin, "You helped cut taxes for the wealthy, which makes them even richer. The middle-class tax cuts are small and last for just eight years. But the corporate tax cut was permanent. How is that just?"

Mnuchin responded, "The fact is we were able to fix a broken system, make America competitive, and create middle-income tax cuts."

A UCLA student, Jacob Woocher, who was present at the event posted a video of it on his Twitter page Tuesday.

Another student posted a tweet that showed police personnel dragging away students at the event.

Earlier in the day, the faculty, staff and students of UCLA, including demonstrators dressed as Louis XVI of France and Marie Antoinette, gathered at the university campus for a peaceful protest to send a message to Mnuchin on their disapproval on Trump administration’s policies, CBS Local reported.