Trump, at Capitol Hill Business Roundtable, Stresses He Is a Pro-Growth Tax Cutter, Not a Redistributionist

He wants the entire Trump tax cut program of 2017 to be extended and made permanent.

AP/Evan Vucci
President Trump at the National Republican Senatorial Committee, June 13, 2024, at Washington AP/Evan Vucci

Low taxes and deregulation were the themes at the Business Roundtable when President Trump made his first visit to Capitol Hill Thursday — the first one since he left office three and a half years ago.

He met with Senate and House Republicans, and then visited the nation’s top chief executives at the Business Roundtable, where yours truly was the moderator and interviewer for the one-hour session. 

On Capitol Hill, the unity vibe was very significant.

The Business Roundtable meeting was private and off the record, though officials were okay with reporting the general topics — but no direct quotes.

The meeting was packed, and the number one issue seemed to be tax cuts.

Trump pledged that he would maintain the current 21 percent corporate tax rate, but then he ruminated that 20 percent was a nice round number, or go to 18 percent, or even the 15 percent rate that he originally favored in the 2016 campaign. And added that he wanted the entire Trump tax cuts of 2017 to be extended and made permanent.

In general, he made it very clear that he is a tax cutter, not a tax raiser.

That he is a pro-growth, prosperity, and opportunity President, not a redistributionist.

And that Joe Biden’s perhaps $5 trillion tax hiking policy was anathema to him and catastrophic to the economy.

Oh and, by the way, Trump repeated his new policy of tax-free tips for service workers that he unveiled in Las Vegas last weekend. And he told several anecdotes about this, but I can’t repeat them because it was an off the record meeting.

Mr. Trump also mentioned big picture themes — that success will bring the country together, and that success will bring unity.

And he agreed with the Reagan dictum, that strength at home leads to strength abroad.

He also repeated his policy to overturn Biden over-regulation, including permitting reform and of course ‘drill baby drill.’

And, as he always does, he maintained that opening the fossil fuel spigots will be a key part of ending Bidenflation.

You could have heard a pin drop through the entire one-hour Trump presentation.

And, my observation here: the powerful group of corporate bigwigs were very happy with a candidate for lower taxes and deregulation and the success of business, which is the best vehicle to promote a workers coalition.

That was my takeaway. I’ve been to several Business Roundtable meetings with Trump during his presidency, and, frankly, thought this one was the most favorable one yet.

From Mr. Kudlow’s broadcast on Fox Business Network.


The New York Sun

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