Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said Thursday he would set up a government efficiency commission headed by billionaire supporter Elon Musk if he wins the Nov. 5 election.
Trump has been discussing the idea of creating a government efficiency commission with his advisers for months, sources told Reuters news agency.
But his speech Thursday at the Economic Club of New York was the first time he publicly endorsed the idea. It was also the first time Trump said Musk had agreed to lead the body.
“I will create a commission on government efficiency charged with conducting a full financial and performance audit of the entire federal government and making recommendations for sweeping reforms,” Trump said.
Musk said in a podcast on August 19 that he had held talks with the former president on the matter and that he would be interested in joining the organization, which he reaffirmed on Thursday.
“I look forward to serving the United States if the opportunity arises,” Musk wrote on X. “No salary, no title, no recognition required.”
Trump has frequently blamed Democratic candidate Kamala Harris, the US vice president, for rising prices for everyday goods under Joe Biden.
Although overall inflation has slowed over the past two years, many American consumers remain unhappy with the higher prices they are paying for food, gasoline and other goods, according to public opinion polls.
Most voters view Trump as a more competent manager of the economy, but his lead over Harris on this issue is eroding, polls show.
With two months to go until the US presidential election, polls continue to paint a mixed picture with no clear winner between Harris and Trump.
CNN released a new poll on Wednesday that paints a mixed picture in six key states: Harris has an advantage over Trump among likely voters in Wisconsin (50% vs. 44%) and Michigan (48% vs. 43%), while Trump has the advantage in Arizona (49% vs. 44%). In the other three, Georgia, Nevada and Pennsylvania, the results among likely voters (respondents who say they will vote) are completely tied, with a slight one-point advantage for the Democrat in the first two.
In each, an average of 15% of likely voters say they have not yet firmly decided on their choice, suggesting that a sizable share of voters could change their views.
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