Sean Rayford/Getty Images; Chelsea Jia Feng/BI
- Donald Trump met with some of America's top CEOs Thursday.
- The former president pledged to slash taxes and red tape in a bid to win over corporate America.
- Apple CEO Tim Cook and JPMorgan boss Jamie Dimon were among those attending the event.
Donald Trump made his pitch to some of America's top CEOs Thursday, promising to cut taxes and red tape in a bid to win over corporate America.
The former president was among the speakers at a Business Roundtable event in Washington, DC, attended by Wall Street titans including JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, Bank of America's Brian Moynihan, and Citigroup chief Jane Fraser.
Stephen Moore, an economic advisor to Trump, said Apple CEO Tim Cook had a front-row seat at the event, Reuters reported.
The presumptive Republican presidential nominee laid out his economic agenda as part of an hourlong conversation with the conservative commentator Larry Kudlow, per The Financial Times.
Trump promised to consider cutting the top corporate tax rate from 21% to 20%, The Associated Press reported, citing a person familiar with Trump's remarks.
The FT reported that Trump also emphasized deregulation and a desire to use tariffs as a "negotiating tactic" with other countries.
Joe Biden, Trump's likely opponent in November's election, did not attend the Business Roundtable event as he is attending the G7 summit in Italy.
Standing in for the president, Biden's chief of staff, Jeff Zients, emphasized the administration's efforts to rebuild the economy in the aftermath of the pandemic and said the Federal Reserve's independence has boosted US capitalism, per AP.
The Wall Street Journal reported in April that Trump allies are drawing up plans to wrest control over some monetary policy decisions from the central bank.
While the former president's reputation on Wall Street hit rock bottom in the aftermath of the January 6, 2021, Capitol riots, top CEOs have softened their tone on him in recent months.
Dimon was highly critical of Trump when he left office but said earlier this year that the billionaire businessman — and now convicted felon — had been "kind of right" on some issues, including NATO and immigration.
Correction: June 14, 2024 — An earlier version of this article misspelled the name of Biden's chief of staff. It is Jeff Zients, not Ziets.