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


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."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
That's not all, as Kaczynski further notes. Watch Trump complain about the Tax Reform of 1986 to Joan Rivers in 1991 here. Jeva Lange
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
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.
-
Why high-street coffee chains may have had their day
In the Spotlight Rising costs of coffee, energy and payroll, plus growing appetite for luxury drinks like matcha, has caused boom in independent and speciality coffee shops
-
GPS jamming: a new danger to civil aircraft
The Explainer Use of the 'invisible threat' is on the rise
-
'Axis of upheaval': will China summit cement new world order?
Today's Big Question Xi calls on anti-US alliance to cooperate in new China-led global system – but fault lines remain
-
Trump crypto token launch earns family billions
Speed Read The World Liberty Financial token is now the Trump family's 'most valuable asset'
-
RFK Jr. names new CDC head as staff revolt
Speed Read Kennedy installed his deputy, Jim O'Neill, as acting CDC director
-
DC prosecutors lose bid to indict sandwich thrower
Speed Read Prosecutors sought to charge Sean Dunn with assaulting a federal officer
-
White House fires new CDC head amid agency exodus
Speed Read CDC Director Susan Monarez was ousted after butting heads with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over vaccines
-
DOGE put Social Security data at risk, official says
Speed Read DOGE workers made the personal information of hundreds of millions of Americans vulnerable to identity theft
-
Court rejects Trump suit against Maryland US judges
Speed Read Judge Thomas Cullen, a Trump appointee, said the executive branch had no authority to sue the judges
-
Trump expands National Guard role in policing
Speed Read The president wants the Guard to take on a larger role in domestic law enforcement
-
Trump says he's firing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Speed Read The move is likely part of Trump's push to get the central bank to cut interest rates