NEW YORK CITY — During a talk at the Economic Club of New York, former President Donald Trump laid out an economic policy with a strong focus on American manufacturing and energy production. In a 90-minute speech, Trump said he would cut the federal corporate tax rate to 15%, create a sovereign wealth fund and appoint a government efficiency commission that would be headed by billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk. 

In a talk that touched on many of the themes he addresses in his campaign rallies, Trump praised his record as president and cast blame on Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris for inflation, wasteful government spending and the border crisis. He also claimed she “almost single-handedly” destroyed San Francisco when she was the city’s district attorney 20 years ago.

“This election will decide whether we reward Kamala Harris with reelection and four more years of crime, economic calamity and international humiliation or whether we change that direction and once again build the greatest economy in the history of the world, which we had during the Trump administration,” Trump said to a friendly crowd of supporters and former administration officials, including former Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and former Senior Adviser Stephen Miller, as well as Chase Bank Chief Executive Jamie Dimon and billionaire investor John Paulson.

Speaking to the group to “lay out my plan to rescue our country from this nightmare and to bring back to its citizens the American dream — bigger, better and stronger than ever before,” Trump presented a multi-faceted, America-first agenda.

Trump said he will implement an energy plan focused on abundance, independence and dominance if elected. Saying the U.S. has more fossil fuel than Russia or Saudi Arabia, he pledged to cut energy prices by at least half within 12 months of taking office. 

“If I was president, oil production today would be four times higher than it is right now,” said Trump, who pledged to get gas prices down below $2 per gallon. “I will immediately issue a national emergency declaration to achieve a massive increase in the domestic energy supply.”

He pledged to “blast through every bureaucratic hurdle” to issue rapid approvals for new drilling, pipelines, refineries, power plants, electric plants and nuclear reactors.

Calling the Biden-Harris administration’s $1 trillion climate change and environmental agenda, enacted through the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, “the green new scam,” Trump said he would terminate the so-called Green New Deal, end the electric vehicle mandate and rescind all the unspent funds.

“We’re throwing money out the window,” he said. “It actually sets us back as opposed to moves us forward.”

If elected, Trump pledged to eliminate 10 old regulations for every new regulation his administration implements. 

“Instead of attacking industries of the future, we will embrace them, including making America the world capital for crypto and Bitcoin,” he said.

Among the regulations he intends to cut are those that protect the environment, which he said prevents the U.S. from being able to extract the rare earth materials necessary for energy production and other industries.

He also pledged to eliminate regulations that increase housing costs.

“Regulation cost 30% of a new home, and we will open up portions of federal land for large-scale housing construction,” he said. “These zones will be ultra-low tax and ultra-low regulations — one of the great small business job creation programs.”

Following a suggestion from billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, who has endorsed the former president, Trump said he would create a government efficiency commission to complete a financial and performance audit of the entire federal government and make recommendations for reforms.

“We need to do it. We can’t go on the way we are now,” said Trump, adding that Musk has offered to head the task force. 

Within the first six months, he said the commission will develop an action plan to eliminate fraud and improper payments, saving the country $1 trillion.

Trump called for making the tax cuts he enacted during his term permanent. The former president signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act into law on Jan. 1, 2018, ushering in the largest changes to the tax code in three decades. 

That law created a single flat corporate tax rate of 21%, decreased the tax rate brackets for high- and middle-income Americans and ended the requirement that individuals have healthcare. 

“To cut taxes even more, we will have no taxes on tips,” he said. “Also, no tax on Social Security benefits.”

To help revive American manufacturing, Trump said he would expand research and development tax credits and reduce the corporate tax rate from 21% to 15% for companies that make their products in the United States. 

“You have to make your product in America,” he said. “If you outsource, offshore or replace American workers, you’re not eligible for any of these benefits. In fact, you will pay a very substantial tariff for products that are made in another country and comes in.” 

He said his message is simple: “Make your product here in America and only in America.”

Trump called for creating a government-owned investment fund, or sovereign wealth fund, “to invest in great national endeavors for the benefit of all of the American people.” 

The money in the fund will come through the tariffs he intends to impose “and other intelligent things,” he said. “We will build extraordinary national development projects in everything from highways to airports and to transportation infrastructure, all of the future.”

He cited state-of-the art manufacturing hubs, advanced defense capabilities, cutting-edge medical research and modern agricultural techniques as the beneficiaries of such a fund. 

“This wealth fund will return a gigantic profit, which will help pay down national debt,” he said.

The federal deficit is expected to be $28.2 trillion by the end of 2024, according to the Congressional Budget Office.