{"id":2696074,"date":"2026-11-02T19:10:47","date_gmt":"2026-11-03T00:10:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-sends-video-greetings-and-a-tariff-tease-to-the-pro-growth-faction\/"},"modified":"2026-11-02T19:19:05","modified_gmt":"2026-11-03T00:19:05","slug":"trump-sends-video-greetings-and-a-tariff-tease-to-the-pro-growth-faction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-sends-video-greetings-and-a-tariff-tease-to-the-pro-growth-faction\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump Sends Video Greetings\u2014and a Tariff Tease\u2014to the Pro-Growth Faction"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftrump-sends-video-greetings-and-a-tariff-tease-to-the-pro-growth-faction%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2696074&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Reagan relics? Or the Republican Party\u2019s future?<\/p>\n<p>At the 10th anniversary gala for Unleash Prosperity, a pro-growth economic group, President Trump recorded a warm video greeting honoring the organization\u2019s founders-Steve Moore, Arthur Laffer, steve Forbes, and Larry Kudlow-calling them \u201cfour of the all\u2011time greats.\u201d He also joked that Moore should \u201cbelieve a little more strongly on the word tariff.\u201d The short video, shown at the October 28 event, highlighted the sometimes cooperative, sometimes tense relationship between Trump and the supply\u2011side, economic\u2011freedom wing of the GOP.<\/p>\n<p>There are three ways to interpret that relationship. One view sees this wing as a group of aging holdovers from the Reagan era: Laffer is 86, and Forbes and Kudlow are 79, while newer figures like Oren Cass (43) at American Compass represent a younger generation of Republican policy thinkers. A second view emphasizes how influential thes supply\u2011siders have actually been on Trump policy: Kudlow led the National Economic Council under Trump\u2019s first management, the group helped shape the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and the One Big Gorgeous Bill Act of 2025, and Trump himself praised their pro\u2011growth agenda-boosting energy production and cutting regulations-in his message.A third perspective is that the free\u2011market, pro\u2011growth approach still has a future in the GOP beyond Trump, with many agenda items left to pursue-school choice, a flat tax along the lines of Steve Forbes\u2019s proposal, technological dominance, and social Security reform featuring private accounts. The One Big Beautiful Bill generated \u201cTrump Accounts\u201d as a form of private accounts and included a scholarship tax credit that could matter where states opt in.<\/p>\n<p>At the gala Forbes outlined his flat\u2011tax plan: for a family of four, the first $55,000 of income would be exempt from federal income tax, with a 17-cent tax on each dollar above that. He framed free markets in moral terms, arguing they encourage cooperation and creativity. Laffer recalled how Reagan simplified the tax code-reducing many brackets to two and cutting the top rate from 70% to 28%.<\/p>\n<p>former virginia governor Glenn Youngkin, a potential 2028 candidate, warned about state tax increases driving out wealthy residents, citing a proposed Virginia plan to raise the top marginal rate from 5.75% to 8% on income over $600,000 and 10% over $1 million; he argued such moves could push Virginia toward the fate of states like New York,Chicago,and California. Youngkin urged reviving optimism among younger Americans who might otherwise be drawn to socialism or left\u2011wing politicians such as New York\u2019s progressive mayor Zohran Mamdani. Laffer and Youngkin also noted that Democrats are not monolithic-laffer praised Bill Clinton\u2019s work with Newt Gingrich on tax and welfare reforms, and Youngkin said there are few moderate Democrats today, perhaps excepting Senator John Fetterman.<\/p>\n<p>Laffer struck an upbeat tone about progress in areas such as the surroundings and public finance-citing cleaner waterways, a thriving national bird population, and the fact that 38 states have eliminated their death taxes-while expressing concerns about the quality of government schools amid fears of rising socialism.<\/p>\n<p>The morning after the gala, the Commerce Department released an advanced estimate showing third\u2011quarter real GDP growth at a 3.4% annual rate. That\u2019s below the 4-5% (or higher) growth the pro\u2011growth camp believes is achievable without triggering inflation, but it is an betterment. Whether Trump can sustain and accelerate growth may hinge on how closely his administration and congress follow the advice of the four economic figures praised at the event; or else the 5% growth some advocate for might have to wait for a future administration.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p><h2>Reagan relics? Or the Republican Party\u2019s future?<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<figure><figcaption> \t\t\t\t \t\t\t\tSteve Forbes, Stephen Moore, Glenn Youngkin, Arthur Laffer, and David Asman at the Unleash Prosperity gala in Washington, D.C. October 28, 2026.\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>President Trump sent a video message to the 10-year anniversary celebration of Unleash Prosperity, a pro-growth group that focuses on economic policy. It was a warm greeting, paying tribute to the group\u2019s founders, who Trump called &#8220;four of the all time greats&#8221;\u2014&#8221;my friend Steve Moore,&#8221; Arthur Laffer, Steve Forbes, and Larry Kudlow. Yet it also included a friendly jibe. Trump said about Moore, the group\u2019s chairman: &#8220;I wish he believed a little more strongly on the word <em>tariff<\/em>.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The brief Trump video, shown on large screens at a Wednesday October 28 celebration event, encapsulated the complicated relationship between Trump and what is sometimes called the supply-side economics or economic freedom wing of the Republican coalition. Sometimes they seem totally in sync with each other. And other times they are at odds.<\/p>\n<p>You can make a case for either of three stories.<\/p>\n<p>By one account, this supply-side wing is a bunch of has-beens, aging relics of the Reagan past. Laffer is 86, Forbes and Kudlow are 79. The competition is younger. Oren Cass, who runs American Compass, a rival, more left-wing but still ostensibly Republican-tilted economic policy shop, is 43; Vice President Vance spoke last year at the American Compass fifth anniversary <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=P2Hx_hfR5h8\">gala<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Look at it another way, and the Unleash Prosperity crowd has been actually far more influential in Trump economic policy than has been widely understood or appreciated. Kudlow was director of the National Economic Council in the first Trump administration. The group helped shape the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and helped shape and pass the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025. &#8220;We have adopted the pro-growth economic policy that those four men believe in so strongly,&#8221; is the way President Trump put in the video, talking about unleashing energy exploration and production and reducing regulation.<\/p>\n<p>A third way to look at it is that the pro-growth, free market approach has room to run in a post-Trump Republican Party. Of the key agenda items enumerated at the gala\u2014school choice, a Steve Forbes flat tax, technology dominance, and Social Security reform with private accounts\u2014there is plenty left to cover in the future. Trump should get some credit for creating a version of the &#8220;private accounts&#8221;\u2014the Trump Accounts\u2014via the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, and also for including in the same legislation a scholarship tax credit that may have significant effects in states that opt to participate.        <\/p>\n<p>Forbes, who ran for president in 1996 and in 2000, sketched the current version of his flat tax\u2014the first $55,000 in income for a family of four would be income-tax free, with a tax of 17 cents on every dollar above that. He urged an emphasis on &#8220;the moral basis of free markets,&#8221; talking about &#8220;people cooperating&#8221; and &#8220;unleashing human creativity.&#8221; Laffer recalled Reagan reducing the complexity of the tax code, collapsing 14 brackets down to two and lowering the top marginal rate to 28 percent from 70 percent.<\/p>\n<p>A possible 2028 presidential candidate, the former governor of Virginia, Glenn Youngkin, mentioned the work remaining at the state and local levels, warning that if Virginia implements a proposed 10 percent tax rate on millionaires, it risks following New York, Chicago, and California on the list of &#8220;death spiral&#8221; states where people are fleeing. Democrats in the Virginia legislature have been <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.is\/20261028191127\/https:\/\/richmond.com\/news\/state-regional\/government-politics\/article_e7223115-3c2f-4584-9fcc-bc07b4917a23.html\">pushing<\/a> a <a href=\"https:\/\/taxfoundation.org\/blog\/virginia-income-tax-proposals-2026\/\">bill<\/a> to raise the state\u2019s income tax rate, which now tops out at 5.75 percent, to 8 percent on income above $600,000 a year and 10 percent on income above $1 million a year. Youngkin, 59, talked about the need to &#8220;reinstill hope,&#8221; especially among younger Americans who might be tempted by socialism or by politicians like the socialist mayor of New York, Zohran Mamdani.<\/p>\n<p>Youngkin and Laffer also noted that the Republicans aren\u2019t the only variable. Laffer described Bill Clinton as &#8220;a great president&#8221; who worked with House Speaker Newt Gingrich to cut the capital gains tax and link welfare to work. &#8220;There is no such thing as a moderate Democrat today,&#8221; Youngkin said, though someone mentioned the senator from Pennsylvania, John Fetterman, as a possible exception.<\/p>\n<p>Amid the fears of rising socialism and concern about whether failing government-run public schools would be adequate to educate children against it, Laffer offered a characteristically positive view of progress. Even on the environmental front: &#8220;the bald eagle flies like never before &#8230; The Hudson River is clean.&#8221; Thirty-eight states have abolished their death taxes.<\/p>\n<p>The next morning, a Commerce Department advanced estimate on the third quarter real GDP growth rate came in at an annual rate of 3.4 percent. That is not the 4 percent or 5 percent or more that the pro-growth crowd believes based on experience is possible\u2014without inflationary pressure. But it is a step in a better direction. Whether Trump can keep it going, and growing, may depend on how closely he and his team\u2014and Congress\u2014heed the counsel of the four all-time greats. Otherwise 5 percent growth may have to wait for some future administration.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>GOP split: Reagan relics or the party&#8217;s future?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4157,"featured_media":2696075,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/UnleashProsperity10YearAnniversaryCelebration.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[548,544],"tags":[6203,19802,50406,74267,3634],"class_list":["post-2696074","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-conservative-news-daily","category-the-free-beacon","tag-gop","tag-pro-growth","tag-tariffs-2","tag-trade-policy-2","tag-trump"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/UnleashProsperity10YearAnniversaryCelebration.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2696074","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4157"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2696074"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2696074\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2696077,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2696074\/revisions\/2696077"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2696075"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2696074"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2696074"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2696074"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}