'Trump Now Owns This Economy': Basking in Dow Surge, President Gets Down to Business

What does the president have to do to get the economy back on track? Economist Stephen Moore, who served as an adviser to Donald Trump during the presidential campaign, addressed that question and more on The 700 Club.

In the aftermath of his highly acclaimed speech to a joint session of Congress, it is down to business for President Donald Trump and the Republicans. They're now moving forward on the president's agenda to jump-start the economy.

The president was already working on his agenda just hours after his speech, meeting with Republican leaders at the White House where they strategized on the legislative priorities.

"We're just here to start the process. It begins here as of now and we think we're going to have tremendous success," said Trump.

Their top goals? Working on repealing and replacing Obamacare and then cutting taxes.

And Wall Street likes what it is hearing.
 
In the Trump speech aftermath, the Dow surged to more than 300 points to another record high, going over 21,000 for the first time.

Investor Alan Valdes of Silverbear Capital said Trump "now owns this economy. He owns the presidency. That speech put him over the top."

The stock market has jumped well over 15 percent since the November election and investors expect it to keep going higher.

"Basically, I'd say it is like 60/40 - 60 (percent) Trump since the election...40 earnings, which have been a little better, jobs numbers, which have been a little stronger," said Valdes. "So overall things are getting a little better. They are trending in the right direction."

Trump also has some other plans to boost the American economy. He wants to invest a trillion dollars to improve the nation's infrastructure, like roads and bridges, and $54 billion more on defense.

But spending so much more money has some conservatives concerned, and they're wondering where the money is going to come from.

But the president believes he'll cover the costs by creating the right conditions for the economy to finally start growing at a faster rate again. A stronger economy means more earnings for businesses and higher incomes for individuals -- and more money in taxes going to Washington.

Since 1947, the economy has grown on average a little over 3 percent a year, but under President Barack Obama, the economy only grew at an average of 2 percent a year after the recession ended in 2009.

Obama became the first president in modern history to not have even a single year of 3 percent growth.

President Trump believes he can turn that around, and tax cuts for businesses and consumers are a key part of the plan.

"You know you get tax cuts, people are going to have more money in their pocket, more discretionary money. They go out and spend it," Valdes explained.

The White House wants to get both Obamacare and tax reform done by the end of the year. But political analysts remain skeptical. Before any of this can happen, Donald Trump, the man who mastered the art of the deal, will need to work deals with members of Congress in order to get his ambitious agenda accomplished in 2017.