SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Knowing that without details of just how president-elect Donald Trump might come at Obamacare, taxes and regulation, CNN political commentator and reporter David Gregory said convenience-store retailers “will welcome what comes out of a Republican Congress and this Republican president.”
Speaking at Winsight's Outlook Leadership Conference in Scottsdale, Ariz., a day after Trump was elected to the highest office in the land, Gregory addressed the issues facing Trump in the near-term, Obamacare and just how the inexperienced politician won the presidency ...
A resolutely “humbled” Gregory set the stage for his talk before 300 c-store retailers by announcing, “I am part of the mainstream media, so I have no idea what I’m talking about.”
Still, he said Trump has many significant decisions to make early in his term as president of the United States.
Asked about how likely it is that Trump will actually overturn Obamacare, as he promised during his campaign, Gregory said “pretty good” to a round of applause from the businessmen and women in the Outlook Leadership audience.
“It’s very difficult to repeal an entitlement once it’s in place,” he said, “so there’s some uncertainty around Obamacare.”
On other measures, he said, “There’s some momentum around tax reform … and I think he’ll take a serious look at the regulatory environment."
Without hyperbole, Gregory said election night “was a stunning result by any account.” And he blamed the media for not seeing it coming and not taking his candidacy more seriously.
“Donald Trump had a keener and deeper understanding of the American voter than the media and the Republican class,” he said. “He is a complete original, suited for today. … He turned out his base [on election night]; Hillary Clinton did not.”
Gregory said the day after the election was “a very healing day,” with Clinton and President Barack Obama both extending olive branches to the president-elect.
From here, he expects Trump to do something the United States hasn’t seen in 30 years.
“[Donald Trump] is the Republican party,” he said. “He’s going to redefine it the same way Ronald Reagan did [in the 1980s].
“Even for people who support him, there’s a lot of uncertainty about Trump, and the people he surrounds himself with is going to tell us a lot.”
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