(Newswire.net — August 15, 2016) — When Donald Trump announced his candidacy for U.S. President more than a year ago, it seemed unlikely that he would get very far, since he had no political experience, had never held elective office, and held many controversial views. But he’s managed to secure the Republican nomination for the 2016 general election.
Now he’s getting his cabinet ready in the event that he wins the grand prize. Recently, Trump released a list of people he would like to see as his economic advisors, but the list doesn’t feature actual economists.
Instead, it’s loaded with highly regarded figures in the real estate industry and on Wall Street. The real estate market might be hot right now, but does that mean such men are ready to help run the country?
His number-one picks are realty tycoons. He cited Howard M. Lorber, president and CEO of Vector Group, and Steven Roth, a chief director of Vornado Realty Trust. There’s also Andrew Beal, a Texas banking giant who started out in real estate.
- Steven Feinberg, chief executive and co-founder of Cerberus Capital Management
- Thomas J. Barrack, chief executive of Colony Capital Management
- John Paulson, president of the John Paulson hedge fund company
- Harold Hamm, CEO of Continental Resources who made it big in oil
Trump also touted a variety of people from hedge funds, private equity firms, and other acquaintances he’s made over the years. Despite choosing his economic advisors, he still hasn’t made his economic policies and goals entirely clear.
Following the announcement of his potential advisors, Trump offered a statement to describe the reasons for his choices. He called the people on the list the “top economists in the country as well as the most successful industry leaders in finance, real estate and technology.”
The Republican nominee also talked about how excited he was to have these team members on his side. “I am pleased that we have such a formidable group of experienced and talented individuals that will work with me to implement real solutions for the economic issues facing our country,” Trump stated.
“For too long, we have watched as President Obama and Hillary Clinton have ruined our economy and decimated the middle class. I am going to be the greatest jobs President our country has ever seen. We will do more for the hardworking people of our country and Make America Great Again.”
His motivation for appointing these economic officials is clearly the same as the one he had for running for president: to remove the “career politicians” from the White House.
Trump did cite one real economist, Peter Navarro, professor of economics and public policy at the University of California at Irvine. However, Navarro still seems to fit into the mode of non-career politician, since he hasn’t spent a lot of time consulting with the political administration.
Trump himself could be considered a kind of economist, which possibly raises a question about the need for “real” economic advisors. He’s been invested in the business arena for decades, and creating successful ventures to maximize his spending.
He’s built his own real estate empire as well, which likely explains his comfort level working with others in the real estate industry. Though time will tell, Trump may know what he’s doing when it comes to the economy and his advisors.
Another point of judgment the anti-Trump critics are raising is the fact that his entire economic panel is composed of men. In fact, his entire cabinet seems to be light on women.
Trump has made it no secret that he doesn’t always respect the female gender, particularly when Megyn Kelly is in the room as a representative of the media. This may be one area of his campaign he may wish to revisit in order to gain higher approval rating from the majority of voters.