President Donald Trump said he would ask Saudi Arabia and other OPEC nations to “bring down the cost of oil” and reiterated his threat to use tariffs to bring manufacturing back to the US as he addressed world leaders gathered in Davos on Thursday.
Trump also said he would demand an immediate drop in interest rates, which he said had ratcheted up deficits and resulted in what he cast as economic calamity under the tenure of his predecessor, Joe Biden.
“This begins with confronting the economic chaos caused by the failed policies of the last administration,” Trump said. “Over the past four years, our government racked up $8 trillion in wasteful deficit spending and inflicted nation wrecking energy restrictions, crippling regulations and hidden taxes like never before.”
President Trump also levied a surprise broadside against Bank of America Corp.’s Brian Moynihan, chiding the CEO and catching him off-guard with a claim that the bank limits business with conservative clients.
“I hope you start opening your bank to conservatives,” Trump told Bank of America’s chief executive officer. “Because what you are doing is wrong.”
The exchange occurred during a virtual question and answer session on the stage of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, drawing gasps from the audience. Moynihan, laughing uncomfortably, quickly changed the subject and thanked the president for his assistance in bringing the next FIFA World Cup to the US, which his bank is sponsoring.
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