Donald Trump struggled Monday to quash a firefight over a series of confusing and alarming statements he made about his economic policies, which have prompted some leading experts to warn he could crash the U.S. economy.
The real estate mogul — who became a target of escalating attacks from both sides of the aisle — tussled with reporters in his attempts to clarify his positions on a range of issues, including the national debt, tax reform and federal minimum-wage requirements.
The campaign of Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton moved swiftly Monday to accuse Trump of favoring wealthy Americans in his tax plan.
Many Republican leaders, meanwhile, were wringing their hands over Trump’s suggestion that he would be open to raising the federal minimum wage, a statement they view as further proof that he is out of step with modern conservatism.
The sparring over economics came as Trump is preparing for the general-election race in the fall and continues to feud with House Speaker Paul D. Ryan, R-Wis., who has declined to endorse him as the presumptive nominee and is set to meet with the mogul this week in Washington. Ryan told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Monday that he would step aside as co-chairman of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland if Trump asked.
Trump’s campaign announced Monday that New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie would be in charge of preparing for a presidential transition, while top advisers spent much of the day at Republican National Committee headquarters coordinating plans for the general election.
Also Monday, investor and top GOP fundraiser Anthony Scaramucci said he was joining Trump’s nascent national finance committee, becoming one of the first veteran Republican bundlers to climb onboard.
“I will do whatever I can to support our Republican nominee,” he said.
On the economy, Trump began setting off alarms over the weekend when he suggested that he would try to negotiate down the cost of the national debt with the country’s creditors. The comments were widely interpreted as Trump seeking to use the possibility of debt default as leverage, which economists warned would represent an unprecedented threat to investor confidence and could affect interest rates.
Trump walked back those comments Monday, accusing his rivals and the news media of intentionally misrepresenting his words.
“If interest rates go up and we can buy bonds back at a discount, if we are liquid enough as a country, we should do that. In other words, we can buy back debt at a discount,” he said during an interview with CNN. “People said I want to go and buy debt and default on debt, and these people are crazy.”
Trump added that the country can always avoid defaulting on its debt because it has the ability to print money. Such a solution would probably increase inflation but would allow the government to redeem bonds at face value.
He leaned on his business experience to assure critics that he understands the issue.
“I’m the king of debt,” he said. “I understand debt probably better than anybody. I know how to deal with debt very well. I love debt.”
The government does not have liquid assets the way a corporation does and would have to borrow more to buy back outstanding bonds.
Economists say repurchasing old debt would not lower the interest burden.
Trump also drew headlines over the weekend after he indicated that he would be willing to increase taxes on the wealthy — a departure from the tax plan his campaign outlined in September, which would cut taxes across the board. That plan would create four distinct tax brackets, from zero percent to 25 percent.
Trump suggested Sunday during an appearance on NBC’s Meet the Press that his plan may ultimately raise taxes on the wealthy. But on Monday he walked back those statements as well, insisting that his initial remarks were merely an acknowledgment that the exact tax rates would be subject to negotiation with Congress. He said his initial tax proposal was “very steep” and would merely serve as a starting point for negotiations.
After all the comments and ensuing clarifications, economists and political rivals remained unsure whether taxes under a Trump administration would go up or down for the wealthy, and whether the rich would ultimately benefit disproportionately from his plan.
The RNC, which is seeking to pull the party together ahead of a tough general-election fight, is playing down concerns over Trump’s conservative bona fides.