Donald Trump pledged Thursday that his tax, trade, energy and regulatory policies would create as many as 25 million new jobs over the next decade.
Speaking before the Economic Club of New York, Trump said his economists estimate that his plans would boost growth to 3.5 percent a year, “well above” the 2 percent currently projected.
Trump first took a victory lap, telling the luncheon crowd, “We’re leading in so many polls; I don’t know what to tell you.”
And he bashed his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton for her economic plans and said the “only thing she can offer is a welfare check.”
He took a swipe at Clinton’s “deplorables” remarks aimed at his supporters.
“These are the forgotten men and women of our country,” he said. “People who work hard and don’t have a voice. I’m running to be their voice.”
He characterized the current economy as one of malaise: “We’re looking at an economy of no growth,” he said. Middle-class incomes, however, had their fastest growth on record in 2015 – something Trump did not mention.
He called for replacing “globalism” with a policy of “America first.”
“I’m not running to be the president of the world, I’m running to be the president of the United States,” he said.
His campaign said that under his plan all income groups would receive a tax cut and “millions” of low-income taxpayers would be removed from the tax rolls. The number of tax brackets would be reduced from seven to three.
It said his plan would also lower the corporate tax rate to 15 percent from the current 35 percent and would eliminate the carried interest loophole for Wall Street and the estate tax, which affects only the wealthiest but which Trump’s campaign said “falls especially hard on small businesses and farmers.”
His campaign said he would also call for an “immediate halt” to new federal regulations and a “very thorough” agency-level review of existing regulations to determine what to scrap.
It said agencies would be required to list their regulations and “rank them in terms of their contribution to growth, health and safety.”
Regulations he’d scrap would include the Obama’s administration’s Clean Power Plan, which seeks to reduce pollution caused by electric power plants fueled by coal.
He’d also junk Environmental Protection Agency water and air rules, including its new stricter standard for ground-level ozone.
And his campaign targeted what it called the “FDA Food Police,” which it said “dictates how the federal government expects farmers to produce fruits and vegetables and even dictates the nutritional content of dog food.”
Campaign aides said Trump would also oppose the Trans-Pacific Partnership, “even if the president and Congress are reckless enough to pass it in a lame-duck session against the will of the American people.”
The campaign pledged he’d appoint the “toughest and smartest trade negotiators” and direct the secretary of commerce to identify violations of trade agreements by foreign countries.
It took particular aim at his No. 1 target, saying China would be labeled a currency manipulator and that any country that devalues its currency will see the imposition of tariffs and taxes.
The campaign also called for an energy policy that will include coal, oil, and natural gas, along with geothermal, solar, and wind.
Aides said Trump’s administration would support coal production, safe hydraulic fracturing and energy production on federal lands. He also pledged to open up offshore areas to drilling for oil and gas.
It also promoted a “Penny Plan,” which he said would cut non-defense, non-safety net spending by 1 percent of the previous year’s total each year. He estimated the plan would reduce spending by $1 trillion in 10 years.
Terry Lundgren, the Economic Club of New York’s chair, didn’t attend Trump’s speech. Lundgren is the CEO of Macy’s, which severed ties with Trump last year after his remarks about Mexican immigrants.
Lesley Clark: 202-383-6054, @lesleyclark