Washington – The White House is praising President-elect Donald Trump’s deal with Carrier Corp. to keep nearly 1,000 jobs in the United States, but is trying to play down the significance of the agreement.
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White House spokesman Josh Earnest says Trump “deserves credit” for brokering the deal, which the air conditioning company says will keep the jobs in Indiana instead of moving them to Mexico.
But Earnest says Trump would have to be successful at repeating that feat 804 more times to meet President Barack Obama’s record. The spokesman says Obama has created 805,000 jobs in manufacturing and that figure would be much higher if existing jobs that have been protected are factored in.
Air conditioning company Carrier Corp. says it has reached a deal with President-elect Donald Trump to keep nearly 1,000 jobs in Indiana. Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence plan to travel to the state Thursday to unveil the agreement alongside company officials.
Trump confirmed the meeting on Twitter late Tuesday, promising a “Great deal for workers!”
Trump spent much of his campaign pledging to keep companies like Carrier from moving jobs overseas. His focus on manufacturing jobs contributed to his unexpected appeal with working-class voters in states like Michigan, which has long voted for Democrats in presidential elections.
The details of the agreement were unclear. Carrier tweeted that the company was “pleased to have reached a deal” with Trump and Pence to keep the jobs in Indianapolis.
Steven Mnuchin, Trump’s pick for treasury secretary, said Trump called the CEO of Carrier’s parent company and said it was “important to keep jobs here.”
Both Trump and Pence, who is ending his tenure as Indiana governor, are expected to appear with Carrier officials Thursday.
In February, Carrier said it would shutter its Indianapolis plant employing 1,400 workers and move its manufacturing to Mexico. The plant’s workers would have been laid off over three years starting in 2017.
United Technologies Electronic Controls also announced then that it planned to move its Huntington manufacturing operations to a new plant in Mexico, costing the northeastern Indiana city 700 jobs by 2018. Those workers make microprocessor-based controls for the HVAC and refrigeration industries.
#MAGA
Hey Mr earnest, the guy is not even president Obama has been for the last 8 years, don’t down play this.
So now every business that threatens to move to Mexico will get a break to stay?
Or be blackmailed if they have federal contrats? What a great precedent.
If Obama really made 800000 jobs he would have completed this deal as well. But Obama didn’t. It’s uncomfortable that a man as successful as Obama needs to exaggerate his accomplishments to keep up with trump.
BH baby, what do you say about this??? Huh???
Obama accomplished a lot in his EIGHT YEARS = gave Iran nuclear weapons, supported Hamas by giving them US $$$$, recognized Castro as a “peaceful” regime, overran Europe with Islamist TERRORISTS.
No other President in American history did any of this & more
Obama and the demarats suck.
All they talk about is everyone’s a races and bigot.
Let them keep Pelosi and lose more elections.