Graham Slattery, David Shepardson and Joey Roulette
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and Jeff Zients, President Joe Biden’s White House chief of staff, met with top U.S. business leaders in Washington on Thursday as they seek to win over corporate America months before the election. two sources said.
Trump was interviewed by conservative commentator Larry Kudlow, who was a key economic adviser during Trump’s presidency from 2017 to 2021, sources said. JP Morgan Chase (NYSE:) CEO Jamie Dimon was seen leaving the building after the meeting.
The meeting with the Business Roundtable, which includes 200 executives, focused on the economy, other sources said before it began.
But Thursday’s dual appearances show both candidates are increasingly focused on courting wealthy and powerful corporate executives as the election approaches. In a May Reuters/Ipsos poll, 44% of registered voters said they thought Trump had a better plan for the economy, compared with 33% who supported Biden’s economic strategy.
The Biden campaign’s message was clear Thursday morning: In a statement showcasing economic improvements under the Democratic president, the campaign criticized Trump’s economic proposals and his past.
“Donald Trump couldn’t run a lemonade stand, let alone our country. “He is a fraud, a fraud, a failed businessman and a president who has left America in economic ruin,” campaign spokesman James Singer said before the meeting.
Trump economic adviser Stephen Moore said after the meeting that the former president “had a very business-friendly message” that emphasized cutting taxes for businesses and reducing regulation.
ELECTRIC TRANSPORT, TAXES
Biden and Trump, who are locked in a tight race five months before the Nov. 5 election, disagree on a number of important economic issues.
Biden has made environmental protection a core part of his economic plans. His administration has created a range of incentives for the purchase and use of electric vehicles, and in January his administration suspended approval of applications for liquefied natural gas exports from new projects.
Trump, although sometimes without going into detail, has criticized efforts to speed up the transition of the U.S. economy away from fossil fuels and has repeatedly said electric vehicles don’t work.
While in office, Trump cut the top corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%. Biden has proposed increasing the top rate for large corporations to 28%, which is below historical levels but above the current rate.
BUSINESS TITANS RETURN TO TRUMP
Both men used tariffs extensively to protect U.S. industry. Trump has proposed a 10% tariff on all imports.
“President Trump’s America First economic agenda will deliver middle-class tax cuts, record regulatory cuts, fair trade, abundant energy, low inflation, rising wages and restoring the rule of law in America,” said Trump campaign spokeswoman Caroline Leavitt.
While in Washington, Trump also plans to speak with Senate and House Republicans at locations close to the U.S. Capitol. The meetings are expected to focus on the policy priorities of a potential second Trump term.
The Business Roundtable regularly asks major party presidential candidates to speak to the group during election years. Even so, Trump’s appearance underscores how warmly some in the business community view the former president after many companies distanced themselves from him and his supporters following the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
In the weeks after the attack, many major corporations said they would no longer donate to federal politicians who denied the legitimacy of the 2020 vote that Biden won, although many have since appeared to quietly backtrack on that promise.
Business titans such as Stephen Schwarzman, CEO of Blackstone (NYSE:), previously abandoned Trump only to announce this election cycle that they would support him after he easily defeated his rivals for the presidential nomination. from the Republican Party earlier this year.