President Donald Trump delivered a sweeping economic address at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Wednesday morning, outlining ambitious plans to reshape American housing markets and slash credit card rates while touting his administration’s first-year achievements.
The speech comes as Trump seeks to rally European allies behind his economic vision while positioning America as the global financial powerhouse.
Trump announced he has signed an executive order banning large institutional investors from purchasing single-family homes, as previously covered by The Dallas Express.
“Homes are built for PEOPLE, not for corporations — and America will NOT become a nation of renters,” he declared, calling on Congress to make the ban permanent law.
The President also instructed government-backed institutions to purchase up to $200 billion in mortgage bonds to lower interest rates. He noted that “last week, the average 30-year mortgage rate dropped below 6% for the first time in many years.”
In a populist flourish, Trump proposed capping credit card interest rates at 10% for one year.
“The profit margin for credit card companies now exceeds 50% … and they charge Americans interest rates of 28%,” he said, framing the measure as relief from “the Biden disaster.”
Trump touted his administration’s economic record, claiming to have slashed the monthly trade deficit by 77% while maintaining “virtually no inflation.” He said his policies achieved “extraordinarily high economic growth” after what he called the Biden administration’s “nightmare of stagflation.”
The President reported cutting 270,000 federal jobs in his first year back in office. He called it “the largest single-year reduction in government employment since the end of World War II.”
Trump also claimed victories in energy policy, stating that U.S. oil production increased by 730,000 barrels per day. He said gasoline prices have fallen “below $2.50 a gallon in many states.”
The speech took a sharp aim at European economic policies. Trump criticized “unchecked mass migration” and warned that “the West cannot mass-import foreign cultures which have failed to ever build a successful society of their own.”
He urged European leaders to abandon what he called the destructive policies of increased government spending and imports. These approaches, Trump argued, have led to “lower economic growth, lower standards of living, lower birthrates,” and “much smaller militaries.”
“The USA is the economic engine on the planet — and when America booms, the entire world booms,” Trump proclaimed. He called for defending Western culture, which he credited as the force that “lifted the West from the depths of the Dark Ages to the pinnacle of human achievement.”
The President also signaled support for cryptocurrency legislation currently moving through Congress. He expressed hope to sign the bill “very soon, unlocking new pathways for Americans to reach financial freedom.”
