President-elect Donald Trump rang the opening bell of the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday after promising an economic boom in front of an enthusiastic crowd of traders and business leaders.
“We are with you to the end,” declared the new Republican president in the NYSE building in Lower Manhattan, where he was. guest after becoming “of Time magazine”Person of the Year” for the second time.
Trump was accompanied by the vice president-elect J.D. Vancenew first lady Melania TrumpNYSE Chairman Lynn Martin and two of Trump’s children, Ivanka and Tiffany, as the bell rang.
Trump, who will take office on January 20 and has announced his intention to make the United States the as attractive as possible for businesseswas greeted with warmth and enthusiasm by the large crowd gathered on the floor.
Among the spectators were Goldman Sachs“David Solomon, Citi Groupit’s Jane Fraser, Verizonby Hans Vestberg, Brian Cornell by Target, MasterCardis Michael Miebach and Pershing SquareIt is Bill Ackman.
At one point, the room started singing “USA.”
Trump’s entourage also included his pick for health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.his choice of the Treasury, Scott Bessenthis pick for Interior Secretary, Doug Burgum, and his pick for Commerce Secretary, Howard Lutnick. Kelly LoefflerTrump’s pick to lead the Small Business Administration and wife of NYSE Chairman Jeffrey Sprecher was also in attendance.
In brief advance remarks, Trump promised that his new administration would usher in “an economy like no one has ever seen before.”
“We’re going to give massive incentives like no other country has done,” Trump told the wealthy crowd, including cutting taxes “very substantially.”
Trump reiterated his intention to strengthen Oil drilling in the United Statespromising it would reduce inflation and lower food prices.
That assertion contrasts with what he told Time when asked whether his administration would be a failure if grocery bills remained high.
“I don’t think so. Look, they brought them up. I’d like to bring them down. It’s hard to bring things down once they’re in place,” Trump told the magazine.
He also reiterated to the NYSE his promise to reduce the corporate tax rate, already lowered to 21% during his first term, to 15%, but only for companies that choose to manufacture in the United States.
“You pay 21% if you don’t build here. If you do, we’re going to try to get it to 15%, but you have to build your product, make your product in the United States,” Trump told CNBC. Jim Cramer after the bell.
Trump also attributed his election to the vice president. Kamala Harris for the stock market’s recent gains, and noted that he would return to the White House with closer ties to some of the nation’s richest and most influential people.
“(Meta CEO) Mark Zuckerbergcame to see me, and I can tell you, (Tesla and CEO of SpaceX Elon (Musk) is another and (Amazon founder) Jeff Bezos will be next week, and I want to get ideas from them,” Trump told Cramer, who heads the members-only association. CNBC Investing Club.
Hedge fund tycoon Bessent, Trump’s choice to replace him Janet Yellen as Treasury Secretary, told Cramer that the next administration would benefit both Wall Street and Main Street.
“I think under President Trump, Wall Street can win and Main Street can win, just like we did under Trump 1.0. Everyone can do good,” Bessent said.
— CNBC’s Alex Harring and Yun Li contributed to this report.