Trump: 'We have ended the war on American Workers'
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President Donald J. Trump cheered the strength of the U.S. economy and said that the “war on American workers” has come to an end.
“We have ended the war on American Workers, we have stopped the assault on American Industry, and we have launched an economic BOOM the likes of which we have never seen before!” Trump wrote in his prepared remarks to be delivered before the Economic Club of New York on Tuesday.
The president touted the improving labor market, saying that his administration has created nearly 7 million new jobs.
“Before I took office, the Congressional Budget Office projected that fewer than 2 million jobs would be created by this time in 2019,” he said. “Instead, my administration has created nearly 7 million new jobs. We beat predictions more than THREE TIMES over.”
‘Despite the near-record number of rate increases’
Trump continued his ongoing criticism of the Federal Reserve.
In the speech, he said his administration has "delivered on our promises" and "exceeded expectations" on the U.S. economy, "despite the near-record number of rate increases and quantitative tightening" that was "far too fast an increase and far too slow a decrease."
"[We] are actively competing with nations who openly cut interest rates so that now many are actually getting paid when they pay off their loan, known as negative interest. Whoever heard of such a thing? Give me some of that. Give me some of that money. I want some of that money. Our Federal Reserve doesn't let us do it," he said to some applause.
"The smart people are clapping,” he said.
"I'm not the president of the world. I'm the president of our country,” he added. “The Fed doesn't let us play at that game."
Trump also highlighted the gains in the major indices including the S&P, Dow, and Nasdaq.
"If we had a Fed that worked with us, we could have added another 25% to those numbers. I guarantee that," Trump said, adding, "We all make mistakes."
He also touched on trade, criticizing the "disastrous trade deals" that "encouraged" the closing of American plants and offshoring of jobs. He slammed the "failed political class sold out American workers and sold out American prosperity and sold out the American dream."
For more than a year, the U.S. and China, the world’s largest economies, have engaged in tit-for-tat tariffs on billions of dollars of goods. Trade war concerns have remained the top tail risk for investors, according to the latest fund manager survey from BAML.
Nearly 1,300 people gathered for the luncheon at the Hilton in Midtown Manhattan. A who’s who of business and Wall Street turned out, including billionaire hedge fund manager John Paulson and private equity chief Stephen A. Schwarzman.
Julia La Roche is a Correspondent at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter.
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