Trump touts economic plan as protesters continuously interrupt

Pledging to “make America grow again,” Donald Trump offered details of his economic plan Monday as he attacked Hillary Clinton in a scripted speech in Detroit.

But while the candidate was rigorously on-message, he was continually interrupted as shouting protesters were removed from the hall. The GOP nominee paused 10 times in the first 20 minutes of his address to the Detroit Economic Club while protesters were led out of the hall.


Trump mostly stayed quiet as the audience booed while protesters were removed from the room. It wasn’t until the 10th protester began to make noise that Trump finally weighed in, joking that “the Bernie Sanders people had far more energy and spirit.”

Among the specifics laid out by the Republican nominee were proposals to reduce the corporate tax rate to 15 percent and to make all child-care expenses tax free. Trade agreements, a regular target of scorn for Trump on the campaign trail, would be completely overhauled, Trump said. He also advocated for the removal of the estate tax — often derided by Republicans as the “death tax” — and for a reduction of the number of tax brackets from seven to three, matching a proposal from House Speaker Paul Ryan.

Trump also promised an immediate temporary moratorium on all new regulations from federal agencies, a move he said would help encourage businesses to invest in America. He praised his running mate, Mike Pence, for instituting a similar order as governor of Indiana.

Overall, Trump urged a return to what he described as an “America first” policy that would prioritize states like Michigan and cities like Detroit. The GOP nominee said “Detroit was once the envy of the world,” a status he suggested it has lost amid globalization and the movement of manufacturing jobs overseas.

“The city of Detroit is the living, breathing, example of my opponent's failed economic agenda,” Trump said.

Trump’s remarks came amid a larger push from his campaign to reset the race and keep the candidate on message after a stretch of controversies.

Since the end of his convention, Trump has, among other things, feuded with the Gold Star parents of a fallen Muslim soldier, faced widespread criticism for his refusal to endorse House Speaker Paul Ryan and Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) Under intense scrutiny, the Manhattan billionaire wound up offering an endorsement to all three just days later at a rally in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

In addition to touting his own plans, Trump spent significant time bashing those of his opponent, Democrat Hillary Clinton. Through the lens of her economic proposals, Trump hit many of his regular notes on Clinton, characterizing her as dishonest and her proposals as “job-killing.”

Perhaps seeking to capture some of the forward-looking momentum that President Barack Obama relied on to win the White House twice, Trump said the former secretary of state “is the candidate of the past. Ours is the campaign of the future.”

“If you were a foreign power looking to weaken America, you couldn't do better than Hillary Clinton's economic agenda,” he said. “Every policy she has tilts the playing field towards other countries, at our expense and that's why she tries to distract us with tired, political rhetoric that seeks to label us, divide us and pull us apart.”

Despite her promises to the contrary, Trump guaranteed “as sure as you’re sitting there” that Clinton would approve the controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership if she is elected. He said previous trade agreements, including NAFTA, which was signed by her husband, have cost America and specifically Detroit, thousands of jobs.

As evidence of Clinton's inability to follow through on promises of economic progress, Trump pointed to an article published Monday by The Washington Post, a newspaper on the so-called "black list" of media outlets that the campaign refuses to credential. The story outlines how manufacturing jobs in upstate New York decreased by 25 percent and job growth in the region grew stagnant during Clinton's tenure as one of the state's senators. Trump called the former secretary of state's Senate tenure "a disaster" for upstate New York residents.

The Manhattan billionaire pledged to crack down on China, a nation he said breaks international rules “in every way imaginable.” He promised to more strongly enforce intellectual property laws and crack down on “currency cheating and product dumping.” Collectively, Trump said, a more aggressive posture towards China would protect thousands of American jobs and prompt the creation of new ones.

Clinton’s energy proposals also drew Trump’s scorn. The Republican nominee said the former secretary of state’s proposals would raise the price of electricity for families and businesses while hurting American energy producers. Trump contrasted that with his proposal, which he said “will end this war on the American worker and unleash an energy revolution that will bring vast, new wealth to our country.”

On his campaign’s website, Trump attacked Clinton’s economic proposals in even greater detail.

Citing the conservative Tax Foundation, a statement on Trump’s website outlined findings showing that Clinton’s proposals would reduce Americans’ after-tax income by an average of 1.3 percent and decrease the number of full-time equivalent jobs by 311,000. The result, Trump’s campaign said, would be a U.S. economy that shrinks by one percent in the long term.

“Americanism, not globalism will be our new credo,” Trump said. “Our country will reach amazing new heights, maybe heights never attained before. All we have to do is stop relying on the tired voices of the past.”