President Donald Trump called Alabama real property sales a “disaster” on Tuesday, saying “people are getting priced out of their homes” amid a “housing crisis” and called for the state’s lawmakers to step up to help.
The president made the comments during an appearance with local lawmakers during a visit to the state to meet with local officials and to lobby for more tax incentives.
The White House issued a statement on Tuesday morning calling Alabama “a very important state” for Trump, who recently took office and has made a number of high-profile visits to the Southern state.
Trump’s visit to Alabama comes just one day after he met with local leaders and pledged to help them “rein in the cost of home ownership” by reducing the property tax burden and improving the state job market.
Trump’s administration also has announced it is putting together a plan to help the struggling Alabama economy recover from a devastating natural disaster.
In his interview with AL.com, Trump said Alabama is “a state that has done great things for me, and it is a state that I think is going to do great things” as the economy improves.
He said Alabama has “done a great job” of dealing with the state economy, which he said “has been very bad for a lot of people.”
The president also said that Alabama’s tax code “is a disaster” because it “strikes me as one of the worst in the country,” adding, “it’s a disaster.”
The White Street Journal reported on Tuesday that Trump plans to discuss tax incentives with Alabama’s top lawmakers during his visit, a step that would benefit businesses in the state.