Wall Street wonder Carl
Icahn, 79, who’s made a name for himself in business, investing and philanthropy,
had nothing but praise for the man he’s just endorsed for president, Donald
Trump, saying his fellow billionaire businessman is the only candidate out
there who can save America.
“I would say it’s an
endorsement. I think at this moment in time, he’s the only candidate that
speaks out about the country’s problems,” Icahn told Bloomberg on Tuesday. “I’m
behind Trump.”
Icahn says that while he
disagrees with Trump on “certain issues,” he believes America “needs somebody
to wake it up.”
“Maybe he’s brash, but
he’s willing to say what he believes and he’s willing to say, ‘Hey, this is
complete bulls—,’” Icahn said in the video, which is posted on his website.
“The middle class guy
who’s making $50,000 a year realizes ‘I’m being taken advantage of.’ He can
read, he can understand. Ya know, in czarist Russia, they had to have a
revolution. And then the czars would bring out the machine guns and mow them
down. All these guys have to do is vote.”
Trump had publicly courted
Icahn since launching his campaign, repeatedly naming him to his
wish-list of Treasury secretaries – something Icahn at first seemed reluctant
to embrace. But he’s since come around to the idea.
As CNN reported, Icahn
sent out a tweet in early August that read: “After last night’s debate, I
decided to accept @realDonaldTrump offer for Secretary of Treasury.”
Icahn added “we are
in dire need of a breath of fresh air,” but later rescinded the offer to
serve in a Trump administration while still singing Trump’s praises.
“His ego permits him to – where a lot of these
other presidents don’t – surround himself with really good people,” Icahn told Reuters. “Not just me, but others.”
Icahn, to Reuters, said
one of Trump’s characteristics that sets him apart from the other candidates,
and makes him the best man for the White House job, is his willingness and
skill to hand pick excellent advisers with reputations as the best of the best.
“He needs as many good
people as he can get in this environment today,” Icahn said. “We certainly
don’t see that in many of these presidents.”
Like Trump, Icahn is
known for his outspoken views and has similar roots in New York City.
“I want to speak out now
because, I know this may sound corny but I grew up in the streets of Queens,”
Icahn said in his video. “I love this country and I feel so strongly abut the
dysfunction that is going on both in Washington and the boardrooms of corporate
America.”
Icahn said one problem
facing the country is the carried interest loophole, which allows earnings of
hedge-fund managers and other private-equity firms to be taxed at a lower rate
than normal income. Trump said he wants to eliminate the tax break.
“People on Wall Street,
they’re good friends of mine,” Icahn said. “I like them. But not having to pay
full taxes on money that you’re earning is an absurdity.”
The Wall Street guru
also said U.S. companies have been doing a great disservice to the economy by
camping profits in overseas’ ventures, via complicated tax schemes.
“If we don’t really
allow these companies to bring the money back that they are making [overseas],
they are just going to move out of this country,” he said. “It’s going to
happen more quickly than they think. While Congress is sort of fiddling around,
this thing is being done. The country is burning and they’re fiddling.”
Trump’s just-released
tax plan shows his intent to
bring companies back to domestic soil. He has campaigned on the idea that China
takes too much advantage of America’s economy and U.S. businesses ought to have
a restructured tax code to allow them to better compete and grow.
http://www.wnd.com/2015/09/carl-icahn-trump-can-save-america/
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