Trump Pitches Housing Ban, Credit Card Caps in Davos Economic Pitch

"It's great to be back in beautiful Davos, Switzerland," Trump told an audience moderated by BlackRock CEO Larry Fink on Wednesday (local time), greeting "so many respected business leaders, so many friends, a few enemies."

Trump said "yesterday marked the one-year anniversary of my inauguration" and argued that "our economy is booming, growth is exploding, productivity is surging, investment is soaring, incomes are rising, Inflation has been defeated."

He contrasted that with his predecessor, saying: "Under the Biden administration, America was plagued by the nightmare of stagflation, meaning low growth and high inflation, a recipe for misery, failure, and decline."

On housing, Trump said he had moved to curb large firms' purchases of single-family homes. "Homes are built for people, not for corporations, and America will not become a nation of renters," he said. "That's why I have signed an executive order banning large institutional investors from buying single-family homes. It's just not fair to the public."

He also urged a temporary cap on credit card rates. "I'm asking Congress to cap credit card interest rates at 10 per cent for one year, and this will help millions of Americans save for a home," Trump said, criticising "interest rates of 28 per cent, 30 per cent, 31 per cent, 32 per cent."

Trump said he had directed "government-backed institutions to purchase up to $200 billion in mortgage bonds to bring down interest rates," adding: "Last week, the average 30-year mortgage rate dropped below six per cent for the first time in many years."

He also claimed a crypto push was central to US competition with China. "I'm also working to ensure America remains the crypto capital of the world," Trump said, noting that "Congress is working very hard on crypto market structure legislation... which I hope to sign very soon."

Turning to allies, Trump told the Davos audience: "The USA is the economic engine on the planet. And when America booms, the entire world booms."

He argued that Western governments had pursued "ever-increasing government spending, unchecked mass migration and endless foreign imports," warning: "The consequences of such destructive policies have been stark."

He singled out Greenland as a "core national security interest," saying, "I'm seeking immediate negotiations to once again discuss the acquisition of Greenland by the United States." He also complained, "NATO has treated the United States of America very unfairly."

On Ukraine, Trump said, "I think Russia wants to make a deal. I think Ukraine wants to make a deal," adding, "we're reasonably close." He said he planned to meet President Volodymyr Zelensky later Tuesday and urged both leaders to conclude an agreement: "If they don't, they're stupid."

Talking about the Middle East, Trump told Fink: "I think we have peace in the Middle East," while adding, "There are some little situations like Hamas," and asserting, "Hamas has agreed to give up their weapons."

- IANS