Trump 1.0 was marked by a lot of turnover, you know that well. But in 2024, the GOP is completely united behind Donald Trump versus back in 2016. And it feels like these folks will hit the ground running. How much work is this cabinet-in-waiting going to get done between now and January 20th?
Well, I mean, it's a good question. I think that there, you know, because I still talk to a lot of people in Trumpland, there's lists of things that they'd like to do. And of course, they can't effectuate the government until January 20th, but they'll probably have reams of things that the president will sign on that day. And in the first week in the White House, some executive orders have probably tightened the border, some executive orders that will provide greater clarity on things like the regulation of crypto, energy drilling, etc. I think one thing that, you know, people like myself are concerned about is the right to citizenship and the birthright issue. So not to overly get into that on a business show, but if you have an immigrant mom who perhaps is here illegally and she gives birth, you're not a citizen. And I think we've always said that people in that standing as a citizen, I just don't want them to overly affect the culture, which will affect the business community. It's just that they're all conjoined together. So the economy's doing great, quite well. The president's team is going to inherit a rising stock market, a rising economy, rising wages. And so, you know, I just hope and pray they'll do a good job with the team that they put together.
And of course, I know that you do speak with a lot of people in Trump land. Do you expect there to be as much turnover this time around as there was in 2016 when people were kind of just, you know, figuring out how the government worked, many of them perhaps not having worked in government before?
So, you know, I think what happened in 2016 was that the RNC was sort of like a large corporation and MAGA, the president's movement, was more of like a startup. And when he won, that startup took over the large corporation. So there was a very big culture clash inside the administration. And I think that's what led to lots of departures, lots of confusion. There were separate lanes. You know, Reince Priebus was running a sleeve, Steve Bannon was running another, Jared was running a third sleeve. I don't think you're going to have that under Susie. While she's worked with the president for just under two years, they have a good relationship. And I think it'll be more centralized and I think that'll lead to more continuity and less argument and probably less departures.
I am curious, Anthony, about the economic team, if you will, and we can just start with the Treasury secretary, because that's probably going to be one of the most important positions that Trump picks, at least for the markets here. Scott Bessent, and of course, his name has been bandied about, Howard Lutnick and a few others there. Who would you like to see in that seat over the next couple of years?
Well, listen, the one I know personally is Howard. You know, I have a 15-year relationship with Howard, obviously. I think he's a very gifted guy and very commercially gifted. You know, I don't agree with a lot of the things related to the sentiment that Mr. Trump is presenting. But I do like the regulatory clarity on crypto and I do like some of the deregulatory aspects on the banking system, which will allow the banks to be more competitive with the global banks. Howard is the one that I know the most, if you will. You know, I have a personal relationship with him. Scott has an incredibly good reputation. He's a very moderate guy and would do a good job. Both of these guys, I think, are going to be compared to Steve Mnuchin, who frankly, I think did a very good job for President Trump at Treasury. Treasury department is a no-drama position. There's a lot of people that want to return to Treasury for President Trump. And so either of those guys or some of the other guys that you have up there listed, yeah, I think would do a very good job in those roles.
Well, I'm glad you brought up Mnuchin because he's probably one of the few Cabinet-level members that I think for the most part, most people seem to applaud and say, you know, he did a good job whether you're a Democrat or Republican. He was also one of the few to sort of ride out the entire four years. And he seemed to have been given a certain degree of autonomy that other cabinet members didn't necessarily have. Do you think that this go-round, Trump 2.0, given that at least in theory, he's going to have probably a lot more power and sway now that the RNC, or at least the traditional RNC, is out of the way, do you think he's going to afford that Treasury secretary, this new Treasury secretary, that same sort of long leash?
