US: Trump started floating his ideas on economic policy - Rabobank

Philip Marey, Senior US Strategist at Rabobank, suggests that now that he is the last man standing in the Republican primaries, Trump has started floating his ideas on economic policy.

Key Quotes

“While he is the presumptive Republican nominee, his views are actually not very Republican. On trade policy, he is taking a protectionist stance that is typically associated with the left wing of the Democratic Party. However, this should not be surprising if we consider that he is trying to appeal to working class Americans instead of Corporate America.

On fiscal policy, he started as a typical Republican proposing to reduce taxes. However, recently he tweaked his message by indicating that he would be open to raising taxes for wealthy Americans: another attempt to seduce the working class and a major break from traditional Republican doctrine.

While Trump is trying to appeal to the Sanders electorate – note that he also supports a raise in minimum wages –, his departure from conservative ideology may also increase the probability of conservatives putting forward a third party candidate that could undermine Trump’s chance of winning the election in November, similar to the 1992 election in which Ross Perot’s participation diminished George Bush’s chances against Bill Clinton.

Finally, while the President of the United States does not set monetary policy, he or she is responsible for nominating the Fed Chair. Trump has already made clear that he wants to get rid of Yellen.”