Why Steve Mnuchin And Gary Cohn…Struggle To Sell The Republican Tax Plan

October 9, 2017 in Daily Bulletin

Daniel Gross suggested an intriguing explanation for why President Trump and the Republican Administration have struggled to sell their tax plan:

  • Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and National Economic Council Chairman Gary Cohn played a key part in developing the tax plan and are now explaining it to the American people.
  • They…haven’t done the best job selling it.
  • Both previously worked at Goldman Sachs and the problem might just be that they weren’t senior enough.
  • CEOs are the public face of a company, and need to be charismatic in the face of hostile questions from investors, regulators, journalists, and other stake holders.
  • Previous Goldman Sachs CEOs – like Robert Rubin who served under Clinton, and Hank Paulson who served under Bush Jr., did a lot better, probably because they had more experience dealing with a skeptical public.
  • Mnuchin and Cohn were more behind the scenes dealmakers at Goldman and so didn’t necessarily develop the charisma their roles could use.

Read more on Slate.