Dueling auditions: Biden, Trump teams tout plans to juice U.S. economy
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Former President Trump and White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients offered America's top CEOs competing visions Thursday on how to use corporate tax policy and multilateral institutions for stable economic growth.
Why it matters: Individual CEOs don't control the economy. But collectively they help set the business tone for the country, and both Trump and President Biden want CEOs to help them carry out their economic plans.
- The 2024 election comes as corporate America is bracing for a battle royale over taxes in 2025, when many of Trump's 2017 tax cuts for individuals expire.
Driving the news: In separate appearances before the Business Roundtable, Trump and Zients made their own boardroom pitches, according to people familiar with the discussions.
- Trump — interviewed by Larry Kudlow, his former National Economic Council chair — pledged to reduce the corporate tax rate from 21% to 20%, as first reported by the New York Times and confirmed by Axios.
- Trump took the corporate rate from 35% to 21% with his signature 2017 tax bill, so his new plan would represent a small tax cut — but it gives Trump something concrete to offer businesses for their bottom line.
- It also signals that Trump wants to push rates lower — something CEOs always want to hear when taxes are in play.
The other side: Zients — interviewed by Comcast CEO Brian Roberts — made a point of telling the CEOs that Biden, who's in Italy for the G7 summit, wanted to be there in person to make his case.
- Zients didn't mention Trump by name, but he clearly took aim at some policies the ex-president has embraced, such as rounding up immigrants for mass deportations and imposing high tariffs on Chinese imports.
- Both of those actions, Zients argued, would reignite inflation.
- When asked by Roberts about Biden's plan to raise corporate taxes to 28%, Zients said Biden's positions on corporate taxes are well known.
- But he added that Biden's public investments in crucial industries such as semiconductors and clean tech mean the government needs to collect revenue from corporations to help pay for those incentives.
- It's a partnership, Zients suggested, that has helped the U.S. economy thrive after the pandemic and outpace other countries.
The intrigue: Trump didn't recite his hardline immigration policies. Instead, suggested he wanted more high-skilled workers in the economy.
- That's music to the ears of many CEOs, who are always looking for the best workers.
Between the lines: Zients also highlighted Biden's support for institutions such as NATO, arguing that the alliance has helped guarantee the peace that is required for global commerce.
- Trump also mentioned NATO, but in the context of how he prompted member nations to increase their defense budgets.
The bottom line: The subtext of Zients' remarks was that a strong economy requires strong allies, strong institutions and stability — a theme Biden's team has struck in casting Trump as an agent of chaos.
- Administration officials, including Janet Yellen, have argued that Jan. 6-style attacks on democratic institutions, including the Federal Reserve, could undermine the economy.
- Trump doubled down on his 2016 pitch to big business: I lowered your taxes once, and I'll do it again.
