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Spencer Platt / Getty Images
President-elect Donald Trump walks onto the floor of the New York Stock Exchange with his wife Melania, on Dec. 12, 2024.
Key Takeaways
- Donald Trump rang the opening bell and walked the trading floor at the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday, becoming the first president-elect to visit the exchange.
- Trump, surrounded by family, cabinet nominees and executives from major companies, vowed to cut taxes and expedite the approval process for investments made in the U.S.
- He also expressed support for the development of artificial intelligence through investment in energy projects.
- The event coincided with Trump being named Time Magazine’s Person of the Year for the second time. He was given the title in 2016 after his first successful run for president.
Donald Trump promised to lower corporate taxes and expedite permitting before an exuberant crowd at the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday.
Trump, surrounded by family and cabinet nominees including potential Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and possible Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., rang the opening bell at the NYSE, where he was given a warm welcome by traders and business leaders. Goldman Sachs (GS) CEO David Solomon, Citigroup (C) chief Jane Fraser, and Verizon’s (VZ) Hans Vestberg were among the attendees.
“We’re going to be cutting taxes still further,” Trump told CNBC’s Jim Cramer from the trading floor. “You pay 21 [percent] if you don’t build here … and if you do we’re going to try getting it down to 15 percent, but you have to build your product, make your product in the U.S.A.”
Trump also said in remarks earlier in the morning that he would give “a very expedited approval process” to “anyone investing a billion dollars or more.” Trump first proposed the initiative in a Truth Social post on Wednesday.
First President-Elect to Visit the Exchange
Thursday’s NYSE event coincided with Trump being named Time Magazine’s Person of the Year for the second time. He was given the title in 2016 after his first successful run for president.
Trump is the first president-elect to visit the stock exchange. Ronald Reagan became the first sitting president to visit the exchange in 1985. George W. Bush, who made a surprise visit in January 2007, is the only other president to visit the exchange while in office.
Trump is known for paying closer attention to stock market performance than past presidents. On Wednesday, he boasted that the economy and stock market “had the best three years ever until COVID came in.” He added that stocks had recovered from their COVID sell-off before he left office in January 2021.
Support For Development of AI
Trump also stressed his wish to support the development of artificial intelligence in America. “We’re going to be way ahead of AI, and we’ve got to produce tremendous amounts of energy,” he said. He added Lee Zeldin, his nominee to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, would “give us very fast approvals.”
When asked whether Trump would encourage everyday investors to buy more stock ahead of his inauguration, he struck a cautious note.
“I don’t want to get in a situation where they do and we have a dip or something, because that can always happen,” he said. Still, he expressed confidence in his incoming administration. “I think you’re going to have some great days ahead,” he said.