2016 Presidential White Paper SERIES
Paper #11
donald trump
November 3, 2015
INTRODUCTION
Donald Trump is a career businessman
and real estate developer whose personal
fortune from real estate and television
has been valued by Forbes at $4.5 billion1,
however Trump says his worth should
be valued in excess of $10 billion2, while
Bloomberg’s analysis pegged it at $2.9 billion.3 Forbes gives Trump a score of 5 out
of 10 on its Self-Made Score, an indication that at least some of his wealth was
inherited.4 Trump’s father was a New York
real estate developer who, according to the
Washington Post, “…built an empire of some
27,000 residential units… and was worth
nearly $300 million at his death in 1999.”5
Politically, Trump built numerous relationships with government officials in New
York. His first political registration was
as a member of the Republican Party, and
he first appeared on the national political
scene in 1988 at the Republican National
Convention in support of then-presidential
nominee George H. W. Bush. During an interview at the convention, Trump rejected
the Republican label and, when asked why
he was a Republican, said, “I have no idea,”
adding, “I just believe in certain principles
of the Republican Party.”6
In 1999, he joined the Independence Party
of New York7 and planned to challenge Pat
Buchanan for the Reform Party presidential nomination, but eventually withdrew
calling the party a “total mess.”8
Trump registered as a Democrat in 2001,
and remained a Democrat for the next
eight years. He also was an outspoken
critic of President George W. Bush – even
urging Nancy Pelosi to impeach him9 –
before rejoining the Republican Party in
2009.10 However, he took another leave
of absence from the GOP in 2011 before
returning in April 2012.11 In both 2008 and
2012 Trump hinted at possible presidential
runs, but ultimately set his sights on the
2016 Republican presidential nomination.
TAXES
The Club for Growth is committed to
lower taxes – especially lower tax rates
– across the board. Lower taxes on work,
savings, and investments lead to greater
levels of these activities, thus encouraging
greater economic growth.
As a presidential candidate, Donald Trump
issued a tax reform proposal that is a far
cry from the positions he’s historically
taken on taxes. While his latest plan would
significantly lower tax rates for individuals
and businesses, questions remain about his
lack of specificity on “…the deductions and
1 Forbes, 9/29/2015
Photo credit: Gage Skidmore
loopholes” that he claims would be reduced
or eliminated.12 In addition, the Trump
tax proposal includes a one-time 10%
repatriation tax on “…corporate cash held
overseas… followed by an end to the deferral of taxes on corporate income earned
abroad.”13 Conservatives have generally
opposed efforts to repeal the deferment
of taxes on corporate earnings generated
overseas, while President Obama14 and
the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute
have argued that, “Ending deferral could
increase corporate tax revenue by over $50
billion per year.”15
Donald Trump has been a frequent advocate of higher taxes, and believes a flat tax,
under which all Americans pay the same
percentage, is the wrong approach.16 As a
presidential candidate, Trump has reiterated that he believes taxes should graduate upwards with income17 and he has
advanced a proposal to double the amount
investment managers pay by removing the
12 DonaldJTrump.com, Tax Reform
2 Business Insider, 7/15/2015
7 CNN, 10/25/1999
13 DonaldJTrump.com, Tax Reform
3 Bloomberg News, 7/28/2015
8 Chicago Tribune, 2/14/2000
14 Fortune, 2/5/2015
4 Ibid.
9 CNN, 10/15/2008
15 Economic Policy Institute, 3/31/2014
5 Washington Post, 7/22/2015
10 PolitiFact, 8/24/2015
16 Fox News, August 2015
6 Youtube, CNN Interview
11 Ibid.
17 Ibid.
2016 Presidential White Paper Series - Donald trump
carried-interest exception.18 Moreover, as
discussed in the Free Trade section of this
paper, Trump’s frequent threats of high
tariffs would result in what would effectively be a higher sales tax paid by American households and businesses.19
the Democrat Party, the Democrat Party
left me.”27
In 1999, Donald Trump proposed the largest tax hike in history, a one-time wealth
tax of 14.25% to be paid by high-net-worth
individuals.20 When it was pointed out to
him that it was unlikely for a businessperson to maintain 14.25% of their wealth
in cash, Trump reasoned, “You’d sell off
assets.”21 Even today he refuses to admit
that his plan was a mistake, proclaiming
instead that, “It was a great proposal,” and
adding, that if circumstances were similar,
“I would do that all day long.” 22
reducing government spending. Less
ENTITLEMENT REFORM
spending enhances economic growth by
America’s major entitlement programs
The wealth tax proposal was not the only
past instance of Trump supporting drastic
tax increases. In 1991, Trump testified
before a House budget subcommittee,
claiming, “The fact is that 25% for high
income people, … it should be raised substantially…” 23 His one self-serving caveat
was that by investing in real estate the tax
would be lowered.24
Trump passes off his terrible record on
taxation by insisting he has evolved much
like President Reagan.25 It should be noted
that unlike President Reagan, Trump does
not adhere to the core philosophy of supply-side economics that drove Reagan’s tax
policy.26 To this day Trump continues to
repeat the mantra that the rich should pay
proportionately more, an idea that directly
conflicts with basic pro-growth principles.
Reagan also did not claim a personal evolution, but famously said, “I didn’t leave
SPENDING
The Club for Growth is committed to
enabling lower taxes and diminishing the
government’s economically inefficient allocation of resources.
In campaign speeches, Donald Trump has
promised tremendous spending increases
on infrastructure28 and the military.29
However, he fails to address, in concrete terms, what projects his spending
increases would fund, beyond building
a border wall30 and a Veterans Hospital
in New Hampshire.31 When asked about
those who claim Trump’s immigration
plan would cost $400 to $600 billion and
“…reduce real GDP by $1.6 trillion,” he
answered, “Well, first of all they’re wrong,”
but did not elaborate.32 Meanwhile, he has
offered few details on spending cuts, with
the exception of promises to “cut out huge
sections of the Department of Education”33
and to gut the Environmental Protection Agency,34 two departments with total
spending that reflects about two percent
of annual federal spending.35 Trump’s
more common answer for balancing the
budget and covering his proposed spending seems to be his oft-repeated claim that
he will improve the economy so much that
27 A History of the U.S. Political System,
Harris, 2009, p. 254
28 Business Insider, 6/16/2015
18 Bloomberg Business, 8/26/2015
19 CNN, 7/28/2015
20 PolitiFact, 9/2/2015
21 ABC News, 11/10/1999
22 CNN, 8/6/2015
23 CSPAN, 11/21/1991
24 Ibid.
25 CNN, 9/1/2015
26 Fox News, 8/12/2015
the budget will balance itself. 36 Trump
also contends that he will “take the money
back” from China and Mexico, by taking
jobs back from those countries.37
are already insolvent. The Club for
Growth supports entitlement reforms that
enable personal ownership of retirement
and health care programs, benefit from
market returns, and diminish dependency
on government.
Donald Trump’s most consistent position
on health care has been his support of a
government-run, single-payer health care
system. When asked in September 2015
if he still supports universal health care,
Trump responded, “I am going to take care
of everybody. I don’t care if it costs me votes
or not. Everybody’s going to be taken care of
much better than they’re taken care of now.”
Trump promised to “…make a deal with existing hospitals to take care of people.” When
asked, “Who pays for it?”, Trump said, “The
government’s gonna pay for it.”38
During his time in the Reform Party,
Trump left no doubt about his stance when
he proclaimed, “I love universal.”39 He then
further entrenched his position when he
wrote, “I’m a conservative on most issues
but a liberal on this one [health care]…40
We must have universal healthcare.”41
Rather than backing away from this antigrowth stance Trump recently defended
his health care philosophy by arguing that
a government-run, single-payer system
works well in Canada and Scotland and
29 National Journal, 9/16/2015
30 USA Today, 9/23/2015
31 Bloomberg, 8/27/2015
32 ABC “This Week” Transcript, 9/23/2015;
NBC News, 8/19/2015
33 South Carolina Tea Party Convention
Speech, 1/19/2015; CNN, 10/1/2015
34 CBS News, 9/23/2015
35 US Department of Education 2015 Budget;
EPA FY 2015 Budget in Brief
PAGE 2
36 Daily Signal, 5/21/2015; CBS News,
10/13/2015
37 Fox News, 5/21/2015; CBS News,
10/13/2015
38 CBS News 60 Minutes transcript, 9/27/2015
39 NBC News, 10/8/1999
40 The America We Deserve, 2000, p. 206
41 The America We Deserve, 2000, p. 207
2016 Presidential White Paper Series - Donald trump
could’ve worked in the U.S. 42
growth in the marketplace.
Despite his ongoing support for a singlepayer health care system, Trump also
claims he will “absolutely repeal and replace Obamacare.”43 In its place he promises “something terrific.”44 However, Trump
has yet to expand on his health care plan and
how it would differ from Obamacare.45
Donald Trump has supported the abuse
of eminent domain laws. He voiced clear
support for the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2005
Kelo ruling saying, “I happen to agree with
it 100%.”51 In Kelo the high court ruled that
property could be taken by the government and redistributed to another private
owner as long as it was deemed to be in the
public’s best interest as determined by the
government.52
On Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, Trump vows to keep them as is46 even
as these programs move toward insolvency. While he once called for raising the
retirement age to 70, Trump said recently,
“…not anymore because now what I want
to do is take money back from other countries that are killing us and I want to save
Social Security. And we’re going to save it
without increases.”47
Trump further states, “It all does take care
of itself if we could get the engine of this
country going again.”48 Recent attempts by
Congressman Paul Ryan (WI-1) to reform
entitlements were met with harsh criticism
from Trump who proclaimed, “The Democrats are laughing at the stupidity of the
Republicans and this Ryan plan.” 49 Trump
explained his position at the 2013 CPAC
event, telling conservatives to leave entitlements alone if they want to win elections.50
REGULATION
Excessive government regulation stymies
individual and business innovation necessary for strong economic expansion. The
Club for Growth supports less and more
sensible government regulation as a critical step toward increasing freedom and
42 Fox News GOP Debate, 8/6/2015
Trump was unsuccessful in 1994 in his
effort to have the city of Bridgeport, CT use
eminent domain to condemn five businesses that were on land where Trump
wanted to build an amusement park.53 In
1996, Donald Trump wanted a local agency
in Atlantic City, New Jersey to condemn
a home, a restaurant, and a shop because
they were blocking plans for a parking area
and lawn for his nearby casino. When the
owners refused his offers he took them to
court in an attempt to take their property by
force. Had he been successful, the owners
would have lost their properties and been
compensated for millions of dollars less
than what he eventually offered them.54
In Scotland, several families living in
homes near a golf course planned by
Trump spent two years living under his
threat of using Scotland’s power of compulsory purchase orders to acquire their
homes. While Trump has claimed he never
made such an attempt, the local government produced a 2009 letter from Trump’s
lawyers demanding exactly that.55 His
primary reason for obtaining the properties was simply to improve the view from
his golf course.56
In other matters of government regulation, Trump has threatened to force U.S.
companies to manufacture domestically or
43 New York Daily News, 8/3/2015
44 Forbes, 7/31/2015
45 Bloomberg, 7/30/2015
46 Daily Signal, 5/21/2015
face financial retaliation from the government.57 He has also expressed concern
over CEO compensation calling it “a total
and complete joke.” 58 Finally, he recently
complained that Rich Lowry of National
Review should be disallowed from television appearances and fined by the FCC
for language Lowry used in praising the
performance of one of Trump’s opponents
during a Republican debate.59
FREE TRADE
Free trade is a vital policy necessary for
maximizing economic growth. In recent
decades, America’s commitment to expanding trade has resulted in lower costs
for consumers, job growth, and higher
levels of productivity and innovation.
Donald Trump’s hostility towards free
trade is unmatched by any other major
presidential candidate, with the possible exception of Bernie Sanders. Trump
recently said, “We need fair trade, not
free trade,”60 and his proposed policies
are strongly protectionistic. At the core of
his trade policy is a 25% tariff on Chinese
imports and a 35% tax on American auto
manufacturers who defy Trump’s order to
produce vehicles in the United States.61 In
2011, he also advocated a blanket 20% tax
on all imports as well as a 15% penalty tax
on American companies participating in
outsourcing.62 Trump has called the North
American Free Trade Agreement “a disaster,” and said, “We will either renegotiate it
or we will break it.”63
It’s been estimated that Trump’s proposed tariff on Chinese imports alone will
cost Americans $117 billion per year,64
57 Detroit News, 6/16/2015
51 Fox News, 7/19/05
52 Institute for Justice, Kelo Eminent Domain
53 Washington Post, 8/19/2015; NY Times,
58 CBS News, 9/13/2015
59 Washington Post, 9/23/2015
60 CBS News 60 Minutes transcript, 9/27/2015
47 CBS News 60 Minutes transcript, 9/27/2015
6/3/1994
61 CNN, 7/28/2015
48 Fox News, November 2013
54 New York Times, 7/21/2014
62 Time to Get Tough, 2011, pg. 65
49 From the Desk of Donald Trump, 6/9/2011
55 STV News, 1/31/2011
63 CBS News 60 Minutes transcript, 9/27/2015
50 CPAC 2013, 3/15/2013
56 Guardian, 5/26/2010
64 U.S. Census Bureau, Foreign Trade, 2014
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2016 Presidential White Paper Series - Donald trump
but Trump justifies his extreme brand
of anti-growth protectionism as a necessary step in fighting Chinese currency
manipulation.65 When challenged about
whether his proposed tariff on cars would
ultimately drive up prices for Americans,
Trump explained, “…maybe a person will
buy fewer cars over the course of a lifetime.
Who cares?”66
The idea of restricting trade with China via
tariffs is nothing new, having been proposed in 2005 by Senator Chuck Schumer
(D-NY), who received at least four Trump
campaign donations, and by Senator
Lindsey Graham (R-SC).67 Trump himself
has promoted his tariff plan for quite some
time telling a crowd in 2011 how he would
attempt to get jobs back from China, “[It’s]
so easy. I’d drop a 25% tax on China…
Listen you motherf***ers, we’re going to
tax you 25%.”68
Commission.”70 Trump believes school
choice and competition would improve the
education of those receiving vouchers, as
well as the education of those choosing to
remain within the public school system.71
When comedian Bill Maher parodied
Concerning Common Core, the current
nationwide education initiative built on
the foundation of the No Child Left Behind
Act, Trump refers to it as a disaster.72 Specifically, he claims that a focus on federal
education standards will always be inferior
to state-driven education policy.73
utan, Trump sued him claiming a breach
The Club for Growth supports broad
school choice, including charter schools
and voucher programs that create a competitive education market including public, private, religious, and non-religious
schools. More competition in education
will lead to higher quality and lower costs.
Donald Trump has been consistent in
his support for school choice, including
vouchers, charter schools, and opportunity
scholarships.69 In 2000, he compared the
current educational system to a monopoly
and argued that school choice would create
healthy competition. He commented that
the public school system is similar to the
Bell Telephone of old, and, “It would set off
every antitrust alarm bell at the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade
Obama’s birth certificate by offering the
same amount for documentation proving
that Trump was not the child of an orangof contract,77 but withdrew the suit two
months later.78
Just this year, Trump sued Palm
Beach County because he felt the airport
manager was intentionally influencing the
FAA to direct planes over his mansion. He
requested $100 million in damages claiming the fumes and residue caused “direct
TORT REFORM
physical damage” to his property.79 Trump
The American economy suffers from
has been fighting the airport in court for
excessive litigation which increases the
more than 20 years, despite purchasing the
cost of doing business and slows economic
mansion long after the airport was built.80
growth. The Club for Growth supports
major reforms to our tort system to restore a more just and less costly balance in
SCHOOL CHOICE
Trump’s offer of $5 million for President
tort litigation.
Tort reform is an area where Donald
Trump has a proven record, and that
record is abysmal. As reported by the
Center for Public Integrity, Trump has
been directly involved in approximately
100 federal lawsuits, as of 2011.74 This is
not necessarily surprising given his longstanding role as a businessman, but the
contents of these lawsuits are indicative of
an individual who has little interest in tort
reform.
In 2006 Trump sued a New York
Times journalist for $5 billion because
Trump felt his reputation was harmed by
the author’s alleged low-balling of Trump’s
net worth.75 The suit was dismissed and,
after an appeal from Trump, that dismissal
was affirmed.76
While there are many more examples,
these three instances illustrate how Trump
has repeatedly engaged in frivolous,
retaliatory litigation, and how he regularly
appears to abuse the legal system as a tool
for publicity or political gain, as opposed to
an instrument of legal remedy and relief.
POLITICAL FREE SPEECH
Maximizing prosperity requires sound
government policies. When government
strays from these policies, citizens must be
free to exercise their constitutional rights
to petition and criticize those policies and
the politicians responsible for them.
Donald Trump believes the U. S. Supreme
Court was wrong in their Citizens United
ruling, which determined that individuals and corporations are free to donate as
they see fit to political action committees.81
As for caps on donations, Trump says, “A
limit’s okay.”82
70 The America We Deserve, 2000, p. 83
71 Ibid.
77 Reuters, 2/11/2013
72 Washington Post, 9/16/2015
78 Law 360, 4/2/2013
73 Simpson College Speech, 4/8/2015
79 CNN, 1/13/2015
74 Center for Public Integrity, 5/5/2011
80 Trump: What’s the Deal? 7/3/1991
4/28/2011
75 Bloomberg, 7/21/2015
81 Trump Campaign Rally in NH, 8/14/2015
69 The America We Deserve, 2000, p. 81
76 Ibid.
82 Trump Campaign Press Conference in NH,
65 Fox News, The O’Reilly Factor, 8/24/2015
66 CNN, 8/20/2015
67 Washington Post, 7/29/2005
68 Trump Political Speech in Nevada,
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2016 Presidential White Paper Series - Donald trump
Despite these beliefs, Trump has heavily
involved himself in the world of political
finances over the years. However, when
asked if his giving to lobbyists and special
interests was part of the problem, Trump
answered, “Absolutely. 100%. I was on the
other side. They will do whatever I want,
up until you decide to run… It’s called playing the game. I was a businessman. I made
a fortune.”83 By his own admission he has
hired many lobbyists and “knows them
all.”84 However, Trump now says, “Our system is broken.” 85 When asked if he would
seek more regulation he said, “I love the
idea of campaign finance reform.”86
POLITICAL ACTIVITY & ENDORSEMENTS
Robust political activity is essential to
producing a federal government that is
more respectful of free markets and produces more pro-economic growth policies.
The Club for Growth’s PAC has been active
in some of the more central battles within
the Republican Party nominating process
in recent years, supporting pro-growth
candidates over pro-government ones.
Donald Trump’s political affiliations have
varied wildly over the years. In the late
1990’s, Trump proclaimed the GOP was
“just too crazy right,” and joined the Independence Party of New York with the intent of running for president under the affiliated Reform Party banner.87 From 2001
to 2009, Trump registered as a Democrat88
and spoke out frequently against President
George W. Bush, calling him “evil,”89 “the
worst president in the history of the United
States,” 90 and expressed shock and disappointment over how John Kerry lost the
2004 presidential election.91
Arlen Specter and ex-Governor of Florida Charlie Crist.100
Trump rejoined the GOP in 2009,92 only to
leave the party from 2011 to 2012, indicating on his registration form that he wished
to remain unaffiliated.93
Democratic candidates, Trump’s top donation recipient was Charlie Rangel Having spent the majority of the last
decade as a registered Democrat, it comes
as little surprise that Trump’s political
contributions heavily favored Democratic
candidates through the end of 2011, when
he suddenly cut off nearly all Democratic
donations.94 Prior to this point, Trump
had donated $497,690 to Republicans
and $581,350 to Democrats over a 22 year
span.95 Among Trump’s frequent Republican recipients were John McCain (AZ),
Arlen Specter (PA), and the American
Crossroads PAC. Since 2012, Trump gifted
the GOP another $463,450 over three
years while only contributing $3,500 to
Democrats.96
Trump has defended his donation history,
arguing, “…I’ve helped Nancy Pelosi, I’ve
helped Reid. I’m a businessman.”103 In
return, Trump says, “They always treated
me nicely.”104
In 2010, Trump donated to Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV).97
Trump gave donations to Ted Kennedy and Hillary Clinton.98
Trump donated $50,000 to former Obama aide Rahm Emanuel’s mayoral campaign.99
Trump has donated to anti-growth Republicans who later left the party, including former Pennsylvania Senator Until his recent abandonment of (D-N.Y.),101 a politician found guilty of 11 counts of ethics violations.102
On the topic of endorsements, Trump publically supported President George H. W.
Bush in 1988.105 In 2007, Trump expressed
disappointment over John Kerry’s 2004
loss to President George W. Bush, and noted that Hillary Clinton was a very talented
and capable leader who would probably be
the 2008 Democratic nominee.106 Hedging
his prediction, he also trumpeted thenSenator Obama as “a star” who had “really
done an amazing job.”107
In the end, Clinton failed to be nominated,
and Trump, soon to be rejoining the
Republican Party, endorsed Sen. John McCain in 2008. He clarified that he was not
endorsing the ticket, and when asked if he
would’ve endorsed Hillary Clinton, said he
preferred not to answer.108
Most recently, Trump endorsed Mitt Romney in 2012 before later accusing him of
“choking.”109
90 CNN, October 2007
91 Ibid.
92 New York State Board of Elections,
8/14/2015
9/15/2009
83 CNN, 7/22/2015
93 New York State Board of Elections,
100 Center for Responsive Politics, 2/17/2011
101 Daily Caller, 6/3/2015
102 Washington Post, 11/16/2010
12/21/2011
103 CNN, 6/28/2015
94 NPR, 7/28/2015
104 Ibid.
95 PolitiFact, 7/9/2015
105 CNN, August 1988
96 Ibid.
106 CNN, October 2007
97 Center for Responsive Politics, 2/17/2011
107 Ibid.
8/6/2001
98 Washington Post, 4/26/2011
108 CNN, 2008
89 NY1 News, November 2008
99 Ibid.
109 New York Post, 5/22/2015
84 Trump Campaign Rally in NH, 8/14/2015
85 Huffington Post, 8/20/2015
86 Trump Campaign Rally in NH, 8/14/2015
87 NBC News, 10/24/1999
88 New York State Board of Elections,
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2016 Presidential White Paper Series - Donald trump
SUMMATION
Donald Trump is not a pro-growth conservative. He has advocated universal, government-run health care,110 a massive new
“wealth” tax,111 and the abuse of eminent
domain so the government could forcibly
buy up private property and redistribute it
to commercial developers.112 While Trump
may claim new positions since taking those
stances, he has yet to fully renounce them.
In fact, he remains supportive of singlepayer health care and abuse of eminent domain, while remaining steadfastly opposed
to free trade.
In 2004, when asked by CNN’s Wolf
Blitzer, “Do you identify more as a Democrat or a Republican,” Trump said, “…
in many cases I probably identify more
as a Democrat.” He then explained, “I’ve
been around for a long time, and it just
seems that the economy does better under
the Democrats than the Republicans.”113
Consistent with that viewpoint, Trump has
donated frequently and heavily to liberal
Democrat politicians.114
lenge … overall, I believe he’s done a very
good job.”116
Too often Trump has been on opposite
sides of the same issue. He’s come out
against Obamacare while maintaining that
government must pay to ensure universal
health care. Trump calls for lower taxes
but supported the largest tax increase in
history.117 One place where Trump has been
consistent is equally troubling: on trade,
he has repeatedly called for harmful, big
government tariffs,118 especially ones that
would provoke a massive trade war with
China.119
In light of Donald Trump’s past statements
and positions, the Club believes he would
not be a pro-growth president.
While Trump has clearly touched a nerve
with Americans who are frustrated with
Washington, his approach to politics is not
unlike the worst of Washington politicians.
Instead of taking consistent and principled
stands, he has jumped on popular bandwagons. He trashes Hillary Clinton today,
but he praised her as a terrific hard worker
in the last two election cycles, and hoped
she’d get the Democratic presidential
nomination in 2008.115 Today he criticizes
Barack Obama, but in 2009, as Obama was
overseeing the bailouts, Trump assessed
the president this way:
“I would hire him [Obama]. He’s handled
the tremendous mess he walked into very
well. He still has a daunting task ahead of
him but he appears to be equal to the chal-
110 The Advocate, 2/15/2000
111 Ibid.
112 ABC News, 6/1/1998
116 Bloomberg, July 2009
113 CNN, 2004
117 PolitiFact, 9/2/2015
114 OpenSecrets.org
118 CNN, 7/28/2015
115 Fox News, 3/28/2012
119 Fox News, 4/1/2011
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