President Trump praises tax cuts, tariffs and deregulation at White House Small Business Week event
May 04, 2026 | Department of State, Executive, Federal
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President Donald J. Trump addressed a White House audience for National Small Business Week and urged attendees to view recent tax and trade policies as drivers of a manufacturing rebound.
“Small businesses are the lifeblood of the American economy,” Trump said, adding that “12 million American small businesses got an average tax cut of over $7,000.” He credited 100% first-year expensing for capital investments as a key incentive that lets businesses “deduct 100% of the cost of new facilities, equipment and capital investment in the first year.”
Trump repeatedly framed tariffs as a tool that has returned production to the United States, saying tariffs helped bring jobs back from China and other countries. He described the policy as central to a “Trump manufacturing boom,” and argued that tariffs and tax policy are producing factory construction and higher employment in manufacturing.
Administrator Kelly Laughler of the Small Business Administration spoke after the president and praised the administration’s agenda, saying the SBA had guaranteed record lending and helped “restore” manufacturing and small-business formation. “In 2025 alone, we guaranteed a record 45 billion dollars in lending to 85,000 small businesses through local banks,” Laughler said in prepared remarks.
Trump also told an anecdote about directing a repair to the National Mall reflecting pool, contrasting a quoted $350 million replacement plan with a $1.9 million surface remediation he commissioned as an example of “common sense” savings in government projects.
At the event Trump presented the National Small Business Person of the Year award to Mark Lamancha, owner of Hometown Products, a metal-casting and 3D-printing company near Youngstown, Ohio. Lamancha thanked the president and the SBA for the recognition.
The president’s remarks tied economic claims to recent policy actions and several high-level political themes. He repeatedly characterized media narratives and polling as “fake,” and framed the administration’s record on employment, regulatory rollbacks and trade as the reason for rising business investment.
No formal policy action or vote took place at the event; it was a speech and an awards presentation. The White House event included short remarks from business leaders such as the president of a steel plant that Trump said had returned from a single shift to multiple shifts because of tariff and tax changes.
Closing, Trump told attendees he considered the moment a “golden age of America” and thanked small-business owners for their contributions.
“Small businesses are the lifeblood of the American economy,” Trump said, adding that “12 million American small businesses got an average tax cut of over $7,000.” He credited 100% first-year expensing for capital investments as a key incentive that lets businesses “deduct 100% of the cost of new facilities, equipment and capital investment in the first year.”
Trump repeatedly framed tariffs as a tool that has returned production to the United States, saying tariffs helped bring jobs back from China and other countries. He described the policy as central to a “Trump manufacturing boom,” and argued that tariffs and tax policy are producing factory construction and higher employment in manufacturing.
Administrator Kelly Laughler of the Small Business Administration spoke after the president and praised the administration’s agenda, saying the SBA had guaranteed record lending and helped “restore” manufacturing and small-business formation. “In 2025 alone, we guaranteed a record 45 billion dollars in lending to 85,000 small businesses through local banks,” Laughler said in prepared remarks.
Trump also told an anecdote about directing a repair to the National Mall reflecting pool, contrasting a quoted $350 million replacement plan with a $1.9 million surface remediation he commissioned as an example of “common sense” savings in government projects.
At the event Trump presented the National Small Business Person of the Year award to Mark Lamancha, owner of Hometown Products, a metal-casting and 3D-printing company near Youngstown, Ohio. Lamancha thanked the president and the SBA for the recognition.
The president’s remarks tied economic claims to recent policy actions and several high-level political themes. He repeatedly characterized media narratives and polling as “fake,” and framed the administration’s record on employment, regulatory rollbacks and trade as the reason for rising business investment.
No formal policy action or vote took place at the event; it was a speech and an awards presentation. The White House event included short remarks from business leaders such as the president of a steel plant that Trump said had returned from a single shift to multiple shifts because of tariff and tax changes.
Closing, Trump told attendees he considered the moment a “golden age of America” and thanked small-business owners for their contributions.
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