Larry Kudlow, the economist who advised the Reagan administration and the presidential campaign of Donald Trump, said President Trump’s tax reform plan will be good for workers. Kudlow spoke on Thursday, a day after the president outlined his tax agenda in a speech in Springfield, Missouri.
“Trump gave a very good speech yesterday and I hope he gives about 50 more of those type of speeches,” Kudlow said on CNBC. “He basically linked simplicity and lower tax rates to middle income wage earners, the so-called ‘working class’ who have incentives to work more and save more, and will have more money in their pockets. That’s a very powerful argument for growth, for jobs and for wages.”
Trump's broad objectives include changing the tax code to make it "simple, fair and easy to understand"; developing a "competitive tax code that creates more jobs and higher wages for Americans"; and lowering taxes for middle-class Americans "so they can keep more of their hard-earned paychecks."
Kudlow praised the president for emphasizing the effects of tax reform on people who ultimately fund the government: workers.
“He did what the White House really has not done up until now: link the business tax cuts, both large and small, to the ultimate beneficiaries, which are wage earners,” Kudlow said. “They are going to win from more business investment and productivity, and more jobs and higher real wages. These are very powerful political incentives.”
The president repeatedly bashed Congress throughout his speech — referencing last month's failed Republican effort to repeal and replace Obamacare.
Kudlow said the Senate’s approval of tax reform will depend on some key votes from a handful of senators, including Sen. Joe Donnelly, D-Ind., Sen. Joseph Manchin III, D-W.V., Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D. and Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo.
Trump singled out McCaskill, who will be seeking her third term next year, telling the audience to vote her out of office if she doesn’t support tax reform. Trump won Missouri last year with 56.4 percent of the vote, compared with Democrat Hillary Clinton’s 37.9 percent.
Republican Mitt Romney won Missouri in 2012 by 9.4 percentage points over President Barack Obama.
“Most Republicans are going to stay on board,” Kudlow said. “They like the growth, they know they need a ‘W’ after the healthcare fiasco. The politics play out well.”
Kudlow is the radio host of "The Larry Kudlow Show" and author of "JFK and the Reagan Revolution: A Secret History of American Prosperity," written with Brian Domitrovic and published by Portfolio.
© 2025 Newsmax Finance. All rights reserved.