This Is Why Trump's Second 100 Days Will Be The Most Important Of His Presidency_ Steve Forbes

Steve Forbes explains why President Trump's second 100 days are the most important to his presidency.

Transcript

00:00The next hundred days will be crucial for the success of President Trump.

00:08Hello, I'm Steve Forbes, and this is What's Ahead, where you get the insights you need to

00:13better navigate these turbulent times. The media has been full of stories about President Trump's

00:19first hundred days, a tradition that goes back to Franklin Roosevelt and the kickoff of the

00:24New Deal in 1933 to fight the Great Depression. But for this Commander-in-Chief, it'll be the

00:31second hundred days that will define his presidency. The issues are daunting. Domestically, of course,

00:38the two big things are tariffs and taxes. The first quarter saw a heartening advance in business

00:44investment, but some companies are turning cautious because they need to know what conditions they'll

00:49be operating under. Consumers are also becoming cautious. Tariffs will initially raise prices,

00:56both because they're taxes and also because they're indeed disruptive to supply chains,

01:02which, as we saw with the pandemic, can also make countless items more costly or even in short supply.

01:09All this makes it even more imperative to get a truly big, beautiful tax cut enacted as soon as

01:15possible. But given the turbulent economic circumstances, Republicans and President Trump

01:21must quickly grasp that a far bigger tax cut is needed than what they're considering now.

01:28Personal income tax rates must be whacked. Right now, Republicans are toying with raising the cap

01:33on deductions for state and local taxes from $10,000 to $50,000. It would be far more constructive

01:41and impactful to slash the 22% and 24% income tax brackets to 15%. In fact, even better would be

01:50eliminating them altogether, taking both down to 12%. In the same vein, cut the 32%, 35%, and 37%

02:00brackets to 30%. The GOP must also include the stimulus of knocking down the capital gains tax to 15%,

02:0715%, which would also instantly raise more revenue. These reductions would really sizzle the economy.

02:15Here, self-described deficit hawks come across as bird brains. When they squawk, the tax cuts would

02:22increase the budget deficit. Without a booming economy, we'll never get out of the fiscal mess we're in

02:28today. The most ominous challenges the Trump administration faces is on foreign policy. It's great to have a

02:36mineral steel with Ukraine, but the only way to get a durable peace is to immediately provide Ukraine

02:42with a flood of needed weapons to halt and then throw back Putin's upcoming spring offensives.

02:50Tougher sanctions won't do it. Putin is building up military forces on Russia's border with NATO

02:56countries like Finland. President Trump must recognize that Putin's imperial ambitions still burn within

03:03them. Negotiating with Iran on its nuclear weapons program is a profound mistake. The mullahs have no

03:10intention of forsaking their goal of Iran becoming a nuclear power, whatever agreement, if any, they might

03:16sign. The administration must credibly counter China's own imperial ambitions, whatever deal is made

03:22on tariffs. China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea think the U.S. is in terminal decline, and the current

03:29turmoil confirms their belief. That's one way how tragic miscalculations are made. Given current

03:37conditions, the White House must be ready for a surprise crisis that can unintentionally escalate.

03:45One such situation is the aftermath of the deadly terrorist attack against Indian tourists in Kashmir,

03:52which is controlled by India but claimed by Pakistan. Both countries are nuclear powers. The danger

03:59is that a vigorous military response by India could escalate into a wider war as Pakistan is allied

04:06with China. The next hundred days are indeed critical for President Trump and for us and the world.

04:13I'm Steve Forbes. Thanks for listening. Do send in your comments and suggestions,

04:17and look forward to being with you soon again.