Here's what's in the Trump campaign's 2nd-term agenda for jobs and the economy as the Republican National Convention gets underway
- Trump's campaign released a second-term agenda that touches on jobs, taxes, and the economy if the president is reelected in November.
- It's an agenda stacked with ambition, but relatively empty on policy details.
- Among the campaign's promises are the creation of 10 million new jobs over 10 months and tax cuts for workers.
- Trump has struggled to publicly define what he would do in a second term in office.
The Trump campaign released a second-term agenda on Sunday evening that starts to map out President Donald Trump's economic priorities if he were re-elected in November.
With the Republican National Convention kicking off on Monday, the 50-point list is divided into 10 categories ranging from jobs to foreign policy to immigration. It's an agenda full of ambition, but very bare on policy details.
Among Trump's stated priorities on the economy:
- Create 10 million new jobs over 10 months.
- Create 1 million new small businesses.
- Reduce taxes so workers have larger take-home pay and jobs are kept in the US.
- Strike new trade deals that preserve American jobs.
- Expand tax breaks for so-called opportunity zones to encourage investment into underdeveloped communities.
Notably, the agenda didn't state anything about making permanent expiring provisions of the 2017 tax cuts, Trump's signature legislative achievement. It permanently cut the corporate tax rate to 21% from 35%, and instituted temporary tax benefits for individuals and families that are set to phase out in 2025.
On healthcare, the campaign said it would seek to "cover all pre-existing conditions" — a position that's undercut by the Trump administration's support of a lawsuit to eliminate the Affordable Care Act. The law already bars insurers from denying people coverage for health reasons.
The campaign also vowed to eradicate the pandemic and slash drug prices.
Over the last few months, Trump has struggled to publicly define what he would do with a second-term in office. In June, Fox News' Sean Hannity asked the president to name his top priority should voters elect him over his Democratic rival, Joe Biden.
Trump instead offered an erratic answer expressing anger at former National Security Advisor John Bolton and praising his own managerial acumen:
"You know, the word 'experience' is still good. I always say talent is more important than experience. I've always said that, but the word 'experience' is a very important word. It's a very important meaning. I never did this before. I never slept over in Washington. I was in Washington, I think, 17 times. All of a sudden, I'm president of the United States. You know the story ... Now I know everybody, and I have great people in the administration. You make some mistakes. An idiot like Bolton, all he wanted to do is drop bombs on everybody. You don't have to drop bombs on everybody. You don't have to kill people."
On Sunday, the Republican National Committee announced that instead of unveiling new policy goals for the November election, the GOP would "enthusiastically support the President's America-first agenda." By contrast, Democrats rolled out a 50-page platform at their convention last week.