Trump touts tax cuts, hints at trade negotiations with China at White House ceremony
President Trump touted his tax cut measure at a White House event on Thursday, before an audience of workers who say they have benefited directly from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. At the Rose Garden event, Mr. Trump largely kept to the script, telling workers that because of his sweeping tax cuts, "you can keep more of your hard-earned money."
Mr. Trump credited members of his cabinet including Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Labor Secretary Alex Acosta for their help in crafting tax reform, making a point that he still is "fighting to drain the swamp."
"Sometimes it may not look like it, but believe me we are draining the swamp. Every time you see me hit you know that I'm draining the swamp and people don't like it," the president said as the crowd laughed.
When touting the administration's wins, the president even joked about extending his administration to 16 years. "The last time I jokingly said that, the papers started saying 'he's got despotic tendencies!' No, I'm not looking to do it."
After hearing from workers who have benefited from the tax cuts in the form of increases in pay and bonuses, Mr. Trump shifted to trade discussions, saying negotiations with Chinese President Xi Jinping were "getting along very well" to "open up" barriers with the U.S.
"For many years our country has been very much taken advantage of, I don't blame China I blame our representatives," said Mr. Trump. His comments come after he instructed the U.S. trade representative to consider an additional $100 billion in tariffs, a day after Beijing announced plans to tax $50 billion in American products, including soybeans and small aircraft.
That was in response to a U.S. move to slap tariffs on $50 billion in Chinese imports.
He said China is now negotiating with the U.S. "very hard and very long" to reduce tariffs on the U.S. and called Xi "a man I like very much." He added, "I think he likes me very much, he's for China, I'm for us. That's the way it works."