Trump vows ‘incomes will skyrocket’ and ‘inflation will vanish’ in second term

MILWAUKEE — Donald Trump promised that “incomes will skyrocket,” “inflation will vanish” and the Federal Reserve would “bring down interest rates” in a possible second term during his Republican nomination acceptance speech Thursday night.

The 78-year-old former president laid out his economic plan, including the elimination of taxes on tips and tariffs on other countries, while slamming President Biden’s management of the economy.

“We’ve had the worst inflation we’ve ever had under this person,” he said of his Nov. 5 election rival, going out of his way not to mention Biden by name. “Inflation has been a killer for our country. No matter what you’re making it doesn’t matter because inflation is eating you alive.”

“People that were putting away money, they were making great wages — the highest they’ve ever made — but they were putting away a lot of money and now they are just being destroyed. They’re not putting away anything, they’re barely living, they’re going into savings accounts, they’re taking out their money to live because of inflation,” he added.

Trump also called on the nation to “get economic relief to our citizens,” pledging that “starting on day one, we will drive down prices and make America affordable again”

“Under [President Biden’s] administration — our current administration groceries are up 50%, gasoline is up 60% and 70%, mortgage rates have quadrupled, and the fact is it doesn’t matter because you can’t get the money anyway,” he said. “Total household costs have increased an average of $28,000 per family.”

Trump said that his economic plan would “bring down prices, and bring them down very, very rapidly.”

“By slashing energy costs, we will in turn reduce the cost of transportation, manufacturing, and all household goods. So much starts with energy. And remember, We have more liquid gold under our feet than any other country by far — we are a nation that has the opportunity to make an absolute fortune with its energy — China doesn’t,” he said.

Trump touted his 2021 tax-cut legislation, saying “I’m going to give you more.”

“We will end the ridiculous and actually incredible waste of taxpayer dollars that is fueling the inflation crisis. They spent trillions of dollars on things,” he said. “And all of the trillions of dollars that are sitting there not yet spent, will be redirected for important projects like roads, bridges and dams, and we will not allow it to be spent on the meaningless green new scam ideas.”

Trump said he also would ax Biden-era federal policies that aim to encourage carmakers to make half of new vehicles sold have zero emissions by 2030.

“I will end the electric vehicle mandate on day one — thereby saving the U.S. auto industry from complete obliteration, which is happening right now, and saving US customers thousands and thousands of dollars per car,” he said.

“I will bring auto jobs back to our country, through the proper use of taxes, tariffs, and incentives, and will not allow massive auto manufacturing plants to be built in Mexico, China, or other countries, where they send the product back to the United States, and steal our jobs, creating a hopeless situation for our companies and autoworkers,” he said.

If carmakers make jobs elsewhere, he will make the vehicles “unsellable” with tariffs of 100% or 200%, he said.

Trump said America has “been taken advantage of by other countries” — as Democrats argue that new tariffs would result in higher prices.

“We will not let countries come in, take our jobs and plunder our nation. The way they will sell their product in America is to build it in America, and only in America” he said.

Trump touted his plan to implement a policy of “no tax on tips,” which he said was inspired by a waitress in Nevada.

“I said to her, just let me ask you a question, ‘Would you be happy if you had no tax on tips?’” he recounted.

“I am going to protect Social Security and Medicare — Democrats are going to destroy Social Security and Medicare,” he went on.

“Under my plan, incomes will skyrocket, inflation will vanish completely, jobs will come roaring back, and the middle class will prosper like never before.”

Biden, 81, frequently criticizes Trump for job losses during his final year in office during the pandemic — likening him to Herbert Hoover, the president at the start of the Great Depression.

Under Trump, the unemployment rate was 3.5% — the lowest since 1969, according to federal data — in February 2020, one month before the pandemic reached the US. It hit a further low of 3.4% under Biden last year before edging upward.

Inflation-adjusted incomes have fallen under Biden as inflation spiked consumer costs by 20% over the incumbent’s tenure.

Median household incomes, adjusted for inflation, increased by 8.5% during Trump’s first three years in office.

Under Biden, per capita disposable personal income decreased by 9.04% from the first quarter of 2021 and the first quarter of 2024, according to Bureau of Economic Analysis data.