← Videos · Economy, Tariffs & Trade

Trump Participates in a Small Business Summit

May 4, 2026 · The White House · 1:08:28

Embedded from the source channel — never re-uploaded. Watch on YouTube

What happened

President Donald Trump welcomed small business owners to the White House on May 4, 2026, opening National Small Business Week with the Small Business People of the Year from all 50 states. “The people in this room represent the 36 million small businesses who create 40% of all economic activity in the United States,” he said. “You’re the lifeblood of the American economy.”

SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler, Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, and Secretary of Energy Chris Wright took part. The President credited tax cuts and tariffs with what he called the “Trump manufacturing boom,” restated the $18 trillion investment figure as he has stated it, and pointed to construction jobs “going through the roof” ahead of plant openings.

Why it matters

The summit is the administration’s annual set-piece for its largest business constituency, staged with the SBA administrator and the Interior and Energy secretaries — the permitting-and-lending team small operators actually deal with. Its headline figures are the Economy hub baseline for Small Business Week 2026.

Scoreboard watch

The figures as stated by the President — 36 million small businesses producing 40 percent of U.S. economic activity, and $18 trillion in investment — are recorded here as stated.

Sources: The White House, “President Trump Participates in a Small Business Summit,” The White House, May 4, 2026 (official upload, embedded above). All figures and characterizations as stated by President Trump and the speakers at the event.