Donald Trump, Pivoting Toward Policy, Urges Simpler Tax Code | Donald J. Trump’s feud with Fox News came to a close on Tuesday morning when the billionaire tycoon called into the network for a friendly interview, declaring “we’ve always been friends.”
Averting any discussion of his war of words with Megyn Kelly, the news anchor who angered him by asking questions about his history of sexism at last week’s presidential debate, Mr. Trump tried to keep the conversation focused on policy.
“We have to knock out their wealth,” Mr. Trump said of how he would defeat the Islamic State. “Take the oil, knock the hell out of them.”
Mr. Trump also shed some light on his tax policy, explaining that he would seek to simplify the existing system before overhauling it and attempting to create a flat tax or an entirely new structure.
“Put H&R Block out of business,” Mr. Trump said, calling for a simplified tax return.In a separate interview on CNN, Mr. Trump said that he would consider partly defunding Planned Parenthood. He said that while he takes an anti-abortion stance, he supports exceptions for rape and incest. He dismissed suggestions that his previous statements about women would harm him at the polls.
“I’ve always been good to women and there will be nobody better to women as president,” Mr. Trump said, noting that he has put women in charge of major construction projects and that he pays them the same as he pays men at his company.
Besides policy, Mr. Trump dismissed reports that he might take a pledge to run as a Republican and continued to keep the option of an independent bid. He has said that if the Republican Party does not treat him fairly, that he might strike out on his own.
“We’re going to keep the door open, we’re going to see what happens,” Mr. Trump said on Fox.
Regarding the shake-up among staff members, Mr. Trump acknowledged that Roger Stone was no longer an adviser. He called him a “nice guy” but said that he was not really using his expertise and that Mr. Stone was seeking too much personal publicity.
Mr. Trump did not pull punches when it came to his rivals. Pointing to his enduring strength in the polls, he said that Gov. Scott Walker was trailing him in Iowa because of economic troubles in his home state of Wisconsin, and he said that former Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida was beholden to special interests because of all the big donors he relies on.
As for Hillary Rodham Clinton, he expressed no hard feelings about comments she made on Monday saying that she did not know him that well and came to his wedding for its entertainment value. He has said that she had to come because he gave her so much money over the years.
“It sounds like she feels like she made a mistake,” Mr. Trump said. “It’s sort of an interesting thing.”
http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2015/08/11/donald-trump-pivoting-toward-policy-urges-simpler-tax-code/
