Donald Trump has been president for eight months now,
and most of his campaign promises remain undone.
From repealing Obamacare to building the beautiful wall
to his unrealized plan to declare coal the national fruit.
But the administration has a chance to turn things around
with its next big push-- tax reform.
An effort that will be led by Treasury Secretary
and mildly satisfied LensCrafters customer
Steve Mnuchin.
So let's get to know the man shaping Trump's tax plan
in tonight's Profiles in Tremendousness.
I have the most dedicated people.
-I have the best people.
Meet Steve Mnuchin, a man who got into politics
the same way Trump did: by knowing nothing about politics.
REPORTER:
movie producer and Democratic donor.
REPORTER 2:
REPORTER 3:
uh, New York primary win.
He's like, "Yeah, I'll stop off."
So he waited, and they finally saw Donald Trump,
and Donald Trump kind of beckoned toward him.
And he joined him for this ride up an escalator and suddenly
Steven Mnuchin was on stage with Donald Trump at the rally
and he was like, "Wow!" And the next day Donald Trump
called him up and invited him to be his finance chairman.
That makes it sound like Donald Trump has no friends.
He's like the thirsty dude that you meet, you know,
when you're out? That guy who's always trying
to... r-roll with you way too hard?
The guy who's like, "Hey, man, great seeing you. Yeah.
"What are you doing tomorrow? Oh, you're moving?
"Yeah, can I help you? I-I... Actually, I have an extra room.
"Do you just want to live with me? I'm lonely, man, I'm lonely.
Come on, man, run my economy, man. I love you, man."
Now... now, Mnuchin may not
have a particularly impressive political résumé,
but you should see his IMDb page.
REPORTER:
and
REPORTER 2:
including
-And you did, uh,
When have you had a treasury secretary
of the United States of America who made a Batman movie?
Wow. Wow.
Made a Batman movie.
How many times do you think Mnuchin has to explain to Trump
that he doesn't know Batman?
(imitates Trump): "I get it, I get it--
"you're protecting his secret identity.
"I respect that.
Are you Batman?"
"No, Mr. President, I'm Mnuchin."
"Am I Batman?"
"Sure, sir, if you want to be. Whatever."
Now, these days, Mnuchin is less interested in producing movies
and, uh, more interested in producing tax cuts
for the wealthy like himself.
And if you're wondering who's going to pay
for those tax cuts, Mnuchin's got you.
Under our growth models at the treasury,
um, this will pay for itself.
A-And again, we may not get full credit for that.
There may be short-term impacts on the deficit,
but we're-we're very... we want to be very careful
in paying for this with growth,
but we also need to boost the economy.
We need tax cuts and tax reform now.
It's a little bit... it's a little bit weird
how he moves his mouth... how little he moves his mouth
when he talks,
like his teeth don't separate.
It's almost like he's the ventriloquist and the dummy
at the same time.
Like, what-what is going on here?
That's how I speak to people.
Uh, now, you might be thinking,
"Trevor, I recognize the name Mnuchin,
but not from tax news."
Well, maybe it's because last month
he tried to get you to pay for his honeymoon.
REPORTER:
multimillionaire Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin
formally requested that he and his new wife Louise
be allowed to travel in style in a government jet
on their honeymoon to Europe.
At an estimated cost of $25,000 an hour,
the price for taxpayers
would have been several hundred thousand dollars.
Mike Pence married them?
That's weird.
"Do you, Steven, promise to never speak to another woman
"without your wife present?
"Then, by the power vested in me,
I now pronounce you husband and mother."
(laughter, applause)
Uh, you-you know what... you know what makes this story
even better is that, just a few weeks ago,
Mnuchin's wife, Louise Linton,
she slammed someone on Instagram for having the nerve
to even imply
that the couple would make taxpayers cover their travel.
She posted this photo, adding hashtags for items
in her expensive designer outfit.
And this response to critics had its own backlash.
(reading):
Okay, that's-that's not working for me.
That reporter was clearly having trouble
channeling the spirit of Louise Linton.
Luckily,
just for times like this.
(snarky Valley girl voice):
paid for our honeymoon or personal travel?
Mm, LOL.
Have you given more to the economy than me and my husband?
Uh-uh.
I'm glad.
I'm glad that we hired that mean girl. Yeah.
I'm really glad we hired her,
even if she does always make me cry about my thigh gap.
But, uh... By the way,
oh, this-this real housewife meets Marie Antoinette
might be new to you,
but she's been on Africa's radar for a while.
REPORTER:
in Zambia in the 1990s when she was just 18
also got her in hot water.
In the book titled
Linton painted herself as what critics called a white savior,
when she wrote about becoming a central character
in the horror story of the Congolese war.
She wrote...
(laughter)
Guys,
you may not believe this, but...
that kid on her lap...
was me!
(laughter, applause)
Wow.
And, by the way, I didn't have HIV--
I just really wanted that Coke.
But, seriously, though, these two
are both so out of touch it's-it's almost beautiful.
I'm so glad that they found each other.
I just wish Mnuchin hadn't also found this guy.
Because if you think that these two are gonna take care
of everyday Americans, I've got one word for you, "LOL."
Actually, that-that didn't sound right. Mean Girl?
MEAN GIRL: Oh, my God. Lol!
You're the best, Mean Girl.