Once he became president, however, Bush was pressured by
Democrats and some
Republicans to raise taxes as a way to reduce the deficit. Bush refused many times but was making no progress with a
Senate and
House that was controlled by Democrats. Bush later agreed to a compromise in which he worked with Congressional Democrats to raise several taxes as part of a
1990 budget agreement. This reversal caused great controversy, especially in the more conservative wing of the Republican Party.
In the election itself, Democratic nominee
Bill Clinton, running as a moderate, also pointed to the quotation as evidence of Bush's untrustworthiness, which contributed to Bush losing his bid for re-election.