Dave Ramsey doesn’t usually talk about politics on his popular financial show, but he decided to make an exception this year, saying that “Americans deserve to know what their presidential candidates will do about real issues that matter to real people.”
Ramsey, who lives in Tennessee, flew to New York last week and met with former President Donald Trump at Trump Tower in an encounter Ramsey described as “fun” and “interesting.” A video of the conversation was released Wednesday on social media.
It’s unclear whether Vice President Kamala Harris will agree to Ramsey’s request for a meeting, but Ramsey said he has offered her the same opportunity and has been told the request is “under review.”
Ramsey is among the most influential broadcasters in the U.S., ranking No. 2 on Talkers magazine’s 2024 “Heavy Hundred” list, behind Sean Hannity.
Here are five takeaways from Trump’s conversation with Ramsey.
Energy is at the top of Trump’s agenda
In response to Ramsey’s question about what he would do on his first day in office to bring inflation down, Trump said, “The first thing you have to do is get the energy down. If you get the energy down, other things will follow. ... We are going to drill at a level you haven’t seen since four or five years ago.”
The former president told Ramsey that he believes he can get energy costs down by 50% in less than a year, by increasing drilling and fracking in the U.S. “I’d like to use another line but there’s no line that’s better: We’re going to drill, baby, drill.” He said that when energy costs go down, other prices with follow.
Ramsey seemed to agree with Trump, noting that 10-15% of the U.S. economy is related to energy and adding, “Getting that plentiful changes everything.”
Trump intends to cut corporate taxes
During the Trump administration, the corporate tax rate dropped from 39% to 21%. “I think we can go lower,” Trump told Ramsey, saying that he intends to lower it to 15% in a second term. But there’s a catch: “You have to manufacture your product here,” Trump said. “And then I’m going to put tariffs on countries so they can’t come in and steal our business.”
Trump said he had visited North Carolina last week, including the city of Hickory, which has been called “the furniture manufacturing capital of the world,” although China produces most of the world’s furniture now.
The former president doesn’t drink and told his kids not to, either
“The one thing I always told my kids: no drugs, no alcohol, no cigarettes,” Trump told Ramsey, adding, “I’ve never had a glass of alcohol, if you can believe it, I think largely because of my brother. If I did, I probably would have a problem, personality type and all.”
Trump’s brother, Fred Trump Jr., struggled with alcohol addiction, and died at age 42.
Trump believes God may have spared his life
At one point, Ramsey asked Trump about the assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, and how his family reacted. In his response, Trump said he got “very lucky” because he had turned his head just before a shot went by. But then he looked upward and said, “Maybe, maybe more than luck.”
He also told Ramsey how he intends to begin his speech when he returns to Butler on Oct. 5: “As I was saying ...”
Trump is familiar with Ramsey’s financial advice
Cameras rolled as Trump and Ramsey approached each other and shook hands, and Trump told the people in the room that he has watched Ramsey’s show, which is broadcast on YouTube, SiriusXM and radio stations across the country. “I’ve watched him for my whole life. This should be the easiest interview because I’ve learned from him,” Trump said while shaking Ramsey’s hand.
If Trump wins, maybe he’ll find room in his cabinet for Ramsey, who is known for helping individuals follow 10 “baby steps” to get out of debt. As Howard Stephenson wrote recently for Deseret, “Our nation is facing a $35 trillion ‘debt bomb,’ with $2 trillion projected annual deficits in the foreseeable future.”