Detroit - Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on Monday proposed tax breaks for working families and for corporations as he outlined economic plans in an effort to regain momentum lost during a damaging spate of controversies.
Trump said his plan would include imposing a temporary moratorium on new federal regulations and a reduction to the tax burden on working parents with childcare costs.
He proposed cutting the number of federal income tax brackets from seven to three and reducing the top rate to 33 percent from 39.6 percent. He had previously said he would drop that rate to 25 percent, an idea many tax experts said would dramatically reduce government income and balloon deficits.
“She is the candidate of the past,” Trump said of Hillary Clinton, his Democratic opponent in the Nov. 8 presidential election. “Ours is the campaign of the future.”
Trump spoke before the Detroit Economic Club, a traditional venue for political candidates to discuss their economic vision and whose members are area business leaders. His effort to move past a week of disruptive fights was marred by frequent outbursts from protesters.
Clinton will offer her own economic vision in a speech in Michigan on Thursday. In a statement ahead of Trump's speech, her campaign said that his plan would give tax breaks to the wealthy and big companies, and would hurt working families and trigger a recession.
The Detroit speech was Trump's first on the economy since announcing a 13-man team of economic advisers last week. It also comes after what was widely seen as his worst week as a presidential candidate for the Nov. 8 election.
“He's trying to rebuild momentum after his serious stumbles over the past 10 days,” said Ron Bonjean, a Republican strategist in Washington. “This is to target voters in general that he's not just live-tweeting his candidacy, that there is some deeper thought behind his efforts.”
Trump got entangled in days of dispute with the parents of a Muslim American soldier who was killed in the Iraq war, and sparred with party leaders. Frustrated Republicans plan to put forth a conservative alternative to Trump, former top House aide and former CIA officer Evan McMullin.
Reuters