Donald Trump announced that he will appoint Elon Musk to lead the new commission

The former president has been discussing the idea of ​​a government efficiency commission with aides for weeks, people familiar with the talks told Reuters. But his speech Thursday at the New York Economic Club was the first time he publicly endorsed the idea.

It was also the first time Trump said Musk had agreed to head the body.

“I will create a government efficiency commission to conduct a full financial and efficiency audit of the entire federal government and make recommendations for drastic reforms,” ​​Trump said.

Musk said in an August 19 podcast that he had spoken with the former president about the issue and that he would be interested in serving on the body.

“I look forward to serving America if the opportunity arises,” Musk wrote on X on Thursday.

Media commentators, including those associated with the Wall Street Journal, have pointed to a potential conflict of interest for Musk, whose companies Tesla and SpaceX receive sizeable government subsidies and contracts.

In his remarks, Trump singled out a number of business leaders in the audience, including JP Morgan Chief Executive Jamie Dimon, Blackstone Group Chief Executive Stephen Schwarzman and his former Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin. Also among those attending Thursday’s event was Cantor Fitzgerald Chief Executive Howard Lutnick, who serves as co-chair of Trump’s team, Reuters reported.

On the campaign trail, Trump frequently blamed Democratic candidate and Vice President Kamala Harris for the rise in the prices of everyday goods during the president's term. Joe Biden.

While inflation Although economic activity has slowed substantially over the past two years, many U.S. consumers remain dissatisfied with the higher prices they are paying for food, gas and other goods, according to polls reviewed by Reuters.

Trump is viewed by a majority of voters as more competent when it comes to managing the economy. Polls However, they show that his advantage over Harris on this issue is shrinking, the agency reported.

In addition to creating the commission, Trump also announced drastic deregulation, making permanent his tax cuts, making America the “cryptocurrency and Bitcoin capital of the world,” and universal tariffs on all foreign products. Trump said the tariffs would be “higher than what people have heard before.” Reports suggested tariffs of up to 10 percent.

During his speech, Trump also touched on all of his other campaign themes, including his promise to end wars in Ukraine before he formally took office, blaming President Biden for provoking the Russian invasion. Asked by a member of the club whether he intended to strengthen sanctions against RussiaTrump responded that he was a “user of sanctions” but that he supports their removal as soon as possible because “ultimately it kills the dollar” and “losing the dollar is like losing a war.”

– I apply sanctions very strongly against countries that deserve them, but then I remove them. Because, look: we lose Iranwe are losing Russia. China they are trying to make their currency dominant. (…) We are losing so many countries because there are so many conflicts with all these countries. So I want to use sanctions as little as possible, he said.

The Republican presidential candidate also admitted that he did not know how to react to the comments made on Thursday Vladimir Putin support for his rival, Kamala Harris.

“I didn't know if I should call him and say: thank you very much. I don't know exactly what to say. I don't know if I should be offended or if he did me a favor, but we have to get along with the world,” he noted.