Trump just claimed the Tax Reform Act of 1986 went 'beautifully.' He used to believe it was 'disastrous' and 'crazy.'

(Image credit: JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images)

published 30 August 2017

It has been suggested before that President Trump can be somewhat inconsistent, and CNN's Andrew Kaczynski brought out the receipts for one particularly dramatic U-turn on Wednesday during Trump's tax overhaul speech in Missouri.

Trump was speaking on the topic of the Tax Reform Act of 1986, which was signed into law by former President Ronald Reagan. Trump praised the reforms, claiming that afterward "our economy boomed … it just went beautifully right through the roof."

He didn't always feel that way: "I don't want to jolt the country the way [former New Jersey Democratic Sen. Bill] Bradley did with his crazy Tax Reform Act of 1986, which killed real estate, banking, and caused the S&L crisis," Trump wrote in his 1999 book The America We Deserve, as Kaczynski points out. In the same book, he wrote: "Before we make a move on more extensive tax reform, let me warn that we should never forget the experience of the Tax Reform Act of 1986, which showed how an abrupt change could throw the whole economy into a tailspin. This brings me to one of my least-favorite subjects: Bill Bradley."

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.

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