Trump hosts "opportunity zones" event as Washington waits for Mueller report
As Washington waits for special counsel Robert Mueller's redacted report, President Trump had just one event on his public schedule. The president invited state and local leaders to the White House to discuss "opportunity zones," a designation created by the 2017 tax law that looks to steer investments to some lower income regions.
At one point during his remarks Wednesday afternoon, the president seemed to claim the U.S. wasn't the largest economy in the world when he became president, which it was.
"Our country's doing well, we're the hottest economy in the world," Mr. Trump said. "We're by far the biggest economy in the world. We weren't, when I first came, it was heading in the wrong direction and now we're in the right direction."
"Our trade deal with China's moving along, and it's moving along nicely and we're asking for a lot of things and I have a feeling we'll be successful," the president continued. "And it'll be good for both countries. But that's moving along quite well, you'll be hearing about it very very shortly."
- Trump attorneys and allies prepare for release of redacted Mueller report
- Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner could benefit from tax break they pushed
The Justice Department says Attorney General William Barr will release his report Thursday morning at some point. The president's lawyers have prepared a rebuttal to the Mueller report in an effort to defend the president.
On Capitol Hill, one Republican aide whose office is closely allied with the president said GOP staffers will be particularly focused on the obstruction portion of the report, and playing "devil's advocate" in combing through details so as to have the best possible responses to Democrats' arguments. According to Barr's summary, Mueller's report noted the investigation does not exonerate the president.
