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Trump promises tax cuts to CEOs including Tim Cook and Jamie Dimon

Posted on by darion

Top line

Former President Donald Trump promised to cut income taxes and ease business regulations during a call with members of the powerful lobbying group Business Roundtable, continuing his bold proposals to the business community during his campaign for a second term, according to multiple reports.

Key facts

Trump told about 80 CEOs in attendance, including Apple’s Tim Cook, JP Morgan’s Jamie Dimon, Citigroup’s Jane Fraser and Bank of America’s Brian Moynihan, that he would lower the corporate tax rate, currently 21%, to 20%, as reported by Bloomberg.

According to Reuters, Xerox CEO Steven Bandrowczak, Gap Inc. CEO, was spotted. Richard Dixon and Truist CEO Bill Rogers were leaving the meeting.

Trump also promoted his proposal to eliminate taxes on tipped income after announcing the plan over the weekend in Nevada, a battleground state that President Joe Biden narrowly won in 2020.

Trump has promised that one of his first priorities will be “unlocking America’s energy,” Trump economic adviser Stephen Moore told Reuters, and Bloomberg reported that Trump lamented the energy permitting process, addressing a key concern of Republicans who have complained that permit processing is too slow under the Biden administration’s environmental regulations.

Considering Biden’s mental fitness, Trump said his opponent is “not in top shape,” CNBC reported, noting that Trump was interviewed at the meeting by conservative commentator Larry Kudlow, who served as Trump’s economic adviser during his term. White House.

The meeting came after Trump reportedly made a series of bold appeals to the business community for donations, including during an April meeting at Mar-A-Lago with oil industry executives during which he promised to roll back the Biden administration’s environmental regulations and said they should donate $1 billion to support his campaign.

Tangent

White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients, who is currently in Italy for the G7 summit, spoke in Biden’s place.

Key background

Wall Street executives and business leaders, after supporting many of Trump’s primary rivals, have slowly warmed to him since he won the nomination in March. Dimon, who has criticized Trump in the past, said in January that Trump is “sort of right” on some issues, including immigration and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which Trump has openly criticized, suggesting the alliance should not defend member countries. that do not meet spending targets. After calling for a “new generation of leaders” and being excluded from the primary race, billionaire CEO and co-founder of Blackstone Steve Schwarzman said last month that he planned to donate to Trump. Bill Ackman of Pershing Square Capital Management is also widely expected to endorse Trump, after donating to independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley during the primary. Hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin, who supported Haley in the primary, also recently praised Trump and indicated he might donate to Trump’s campaign once he chooses a running mate. Trump’s appearance at Thursday’s meeting comes after the group and many of its members, including Dimon and Moynihan, publicly criticized Trump in the wake of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

A surprising fact

Cook, who has raised funds for both Republicans and Democrats, developed an unlikely relationship with Trump during his first term despite Silicon Valley’s notoriously liberal leanings. Cook served on a business advisory board during Trump’s term and also appeared in the Biden White House.

Further reading

Trump to meet with powerful business lobbying group with billionaire members (Forbes)

Billionaire Bill Ackman is reportedly leaning towards Trump while Musk denies a role in Trump’s government (Forbes)

Billionaire Ken Griffin Praises Trump Despite Supporting Primary Rivals, But He Won’t Endorse Trump Until He Chooses His Vice President (Forbes)