Trump's Wall Street pitch: Punishing tariffs, low taxes, 'explosive' growth

NEW YORK — Donald Trump laid out a sweeping economic vision of lower taxes, higher tariffs and light-touch regulation in an address to executives on Wall Street, where some of his plans have been greeted with skepticism.

In the speech before the Economic Club of New York on Thursday, the former president doubled down on proposals to slash rules on companies, reward those that keep production in the U.S., and impose punishing tariffs on any business that moves jobs or manufacturing overseas.

He also pledged to tackle government inefficiency with a new Elon Musk-inspired commission and to launch a sovereign wealth fund with money collected from tariffs to finance everything from infrastructure projects and child-care costs to paying down the national debt — moves that might ease concerns about the fiscal impact of his agenda.

“I am promising low taxes, low regulations, low energy costs, low interest rates, secure borders, low low low crime and surging incomes for citizens of every race, religion, color and creed,” Trump said in the more than hour-long talk. “My plan will rapidly defeat inflation, quickly bring down prices and reignite explosive economic growth.”

Trump’s speech comes as Vice President Kamala Harris has narrowed his once gaping advantage among voters on economic matters. Democrats are feeling increasingly optimistic about the state of the economy, which has boosted consumer sentiment, and inflation concerns have finally begun to fade.

But both Trump and Harris are under pressure to get specific about how their policies would spark an economy that’s been bogged down by high prices and elevated borrowing costs amid concerns in financial markets that growth may slow.

Harris has cast Trump’s agenda as a calamitous financial wishlist. Her campaign distributed a memo on Thursday saying his plans would add trillions to the national debt and raise costs for most families.

Key aspects of Trump’s platform — including extending his 2017 tax cuts, lowering corporate rates and unwinding Biden-era regulations — helped him rebuild alliances with business leaders who had turned their back on him after he was defeated in 2020.

But his trade agenda, which he’s said could include tariffs as high as 20 percent on all imports and as much as 60 percent on Chinese goods, has triggered alarms among bankers, analysts and think tanks who warn that it could both stifle growth and send prices soaring.

Addressing Wall Street VIPs and supporters that included financial titans like John Paulson and Sullivan & Cromwell Senior Chair H. Rodgin Cohen, Trump touted the economic accomplishments of his first term while blasting Harris on her own economic policies and immigration. He said she remains committed to the left-leaning policies that would raise taxes and extend social safety nets.

“Kamala Harris will take more money out of American pockets,” Trump said. “My plan will leave the typical family with many thousands of dollars more than they have right now.”

Her plans to raise corporate taxes and tax unrealized capital gains for individuals worth more than $100 million would “decimate the U.S. economy,” he said. “If you happen to have a lot of wealth but no cash, you’re in a lot of trouble.”

Trump also highlighted his proposed government efficiency commission to identify waste that would, among other things, identify fraudulent payments and provide recommendations for “drastic reform.” He first latched on to the concept this summer during a lengthy interview with Tesla founder Musk, who’s now one of his most important billionaire supporters.

In a text message, Key Square Group founder Scott Bessent said the speech was a “level set” for Trump’s policy agenda with new items, like the government waste commission, “that would broaden his appeal.”

“He issued a warning on current [Biden administration] policies but then gave an optimistic solution like he used to in 2016,” said Bessent, a former chief investment officer at Soros Fund Management who is now one of Trump’s biggest allies in financial services.

At times, Trump veered off script to rail against immigration or crime in tangents more likely heard at a campaign rally than a VIP economic forum. And it’s far from clear if the messaging on taxes or regulation would overwhelm corporate concerns with how restrictive immigration and trade policies could limit growth, raise prices and reduce the pool of talent available to businesses.

Cliff Asness, the managing and founding principal of the hedge fund AQR Capital Management, said in a post on X that the sovereign wealth fund concept was “ very dumb .”

In his remarks, Trump argued that his policies would spur growth without incurring the consequences that many economists have argued would weaken growth and cause prices to rise.

Analysts made similarly dire predictions about the tariffs Trump put in place during his first term, but “none of them happened,” longtime trade adviser Robert Lighthizer told reporters. “I guess because the intent really is more politics than anything else.”

Lighthizer said that ultimately, the “most important purpose of economic policy, I would submit, is to grow the size and the wealth of the middle class. That is the purpose of the policy.”

Still, Harris has seized on the potential economic impact by calling his trade policies a “national sales tax” that would raise costs for American families and hurt the economy.

During his speech, Trump reiterated his pledge to “end Kamala Harris’ anti-energy crusade,” including by cutting energy prices in half or more within the first 12 months of taking office. As part of his energy plan, Trump said he planned to declare a national emergency on “day one” to ease the bureaucratic processes around oil and gas drilling and to expand domestic energy production.

Those actions would help bring down costs for many industries, Trump contended. Oil production hit record highs during the Biden administration.

Next year, key provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act are slated to expire. Trump has said he plans to “permanently” extend the tax cuts but also announced that he would lower the corporate rate to 15 percent. Harris has said she plans to raise the corporate rate to 28 percent from 21 percent.

“To further support the revival of American manufacturing, my plan calls for expanded R&D tax credits, 100 percent bonus depreciation, expensing for new manufacturing investments, and a reduction in the corporate tax rate to 15 percent solely for companies that make their product in America,” Trump said.

He said companies that “outsource, offshore or replace American workers” are not eligible for that lower corporate rate and instead will be subject to tariffs.

“Our message is simple: make your product here in America. Only in America,” Trump.

Trump also said he won’t be taxing tips — a new and popular campaign promise — and will not be taxing Social Security benefits.

In a short audience Q&A after his remarks, Trump said he planned to address child care with the “trillions of dollars” generated by tariffs and the elimination of government waste — though he stopped short of offering specifics.

“As much as child care is talked about as being expensive, it’s relatively not very expensive compared to the kind of numbers we’ll be taking in,” he said. “We’re going to make this into an incredible country that can afford to take care of its people.”