Investment Expert: Trump Will Bring “Much Better Economy”

Carl Icahn, one of the most highly respected investment experts in the country, said on CNBC this week that he was optimistic about the future of the economy with Donald Trump as president.

“All the things Donald’s doing really point to a much, much better economy,” Icahn said.

Icahn, who was a close adviser to Trump throughout the campaign, said he never understood why economists were predicting a collapse of the stock market if the Republican were elected.

“Sometimes you get these situations where it’s almost a no-brainer where the odds are in your favor tremendously,” he said. “There’s absolutely no reason that everybody was saying ‘if Trump wins everything is going to fall apart’ — which is nonsense.”

There was some fear on election night, though, that those predictions might come true. As the night wore on and it became clear that Trump was doing a lot better than the polls had predicted, the Dow futures market lost more than 800 points. Icahn told CNBC that the tumble was “totally insane” and admitted that he rushed to take advantage of it right away, pushing close to $1 billion into equities.

“I did buy a fair amount, I guess in perspective, but not nearly what I should have,” he said.

Icahn said he was optimistic about the economy under President Trump for several reasons, one of which was Trump’s success in the private sector. He said he was also looking forward to Trump cutting taxes and getting rid of “crazy regulations” that are holding American businesses back.

The fact of the matter, of course, is that the President of the United States only has so much control over the economy in the first place. Some control? Certainly. His agenda, his rules, and even his rhetoric will have a significant role to play over the next four years. But Trump could do everything right and still run right into a recession. He could do everything wrong and preside over a boom. Our free market hasn’t been so badly taken over by the government that it’s completely under the control of the White House, thank God.

That said, Obama’s tight leash on American business has made it almost impossible for our economy to thrive. His agenda has been so focused on wealth redistribution and globalization that our growth has slowed to a crawl. His absence alone will unshackle domestic enterprise, giving the country an extraordinary chance to succeed once again.