{"id":151860,"date":"2022-11-29T23:09:03","date_gmt":"2022-11-30T07:09:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/?p=151860"},"modified":"2022-11-29T23:09:03","modified_gmt":"2022-11-30T07:09:03","slug":"president-biden-on-growing-the-economy-and-creating-good-paying-jobs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/?p=151860","title":{"rendered":"President Biden on Growing the Economy and Creating Good-Paying Jobs"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Bay City, Michigan&#8230;Hello, Michigan! (Applause.) Hello, hello, hello, hello!  I\u2019ll tell you what: I \u2014 if I \u2014 my mom is looking down from Heaven and saying, \u201cApologize to these people because you have their \u2014 you have their back to them.\u201d I apologize \u2014 (laughter) \u2014 because I\u2019m going to be talking that way. But thank you very, very much.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/E4zaTfpIwgM\" title=\"President Biden Delivers Remarks on his Economic Plan\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>And I told Jeffrey that I went to a school that had these colors. The \u2014 you guys will recognize these colors. Well, they \u2014 you know, my college football coach played at Michigan. And he \u2014 he became a \u2014 he made it to the Hall of Fame as a coach. And \u2014 but the thing was that he always \u2014 here\u2019s what he did to \u2014 I have to admit it front end. I told this to Kildee on the way up. We stole Michigan\u2019s uniforms. (Laughter.) Same exact uniforms. So that\u2019s why the blue and gold.<\/p>\n<p>Many of you who are State folks, just remember \u2014<\/p>\n<p>AUDIENCE: Go green!<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT: \u2014 just remember, for all of you who are looking at the tie, it\u2019s Delaware, okay? (Laughter.) If you\u2019re from the University of Michigan, it\u2019s Michigan.<\/p>\n<p>Hey, it\u2019s great to be here. It really is. Jeff, thanks. Thank you, Jeffrey, for your introduction. I really mean it. It\u2019s a big deal. And you\u2019re a big guy. (Laughter.) And as I told you, if I had you running in front of me when I was playing flanker back, I could have been an All-American, man. (Laughter.) I could have been big. Could have been big.<\/p>\n<p>Look, Governor Whitmer, thanks for inviting me back to Michigan. (Applause.) And congratulations on your historic victory. (Applause.) Historic. You stood for jobs. You stood for dignity. You stood for the American worker. You stood up for women\u2019s fundamental rights. (Applause.) You insisted on democratic values. And we\u2019re seeing here today business leaders, at home and abroad, recognize the importance of your leadership. And it\u2019s not a small item. It\u2019s a significant item.<\/p>\n<p>And Senator Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters, both close friends, had to be in Washington today. But I want to say thanks to them because we wouldn\u2019t have gotten half the stuff we passed passed. And they\u2019re true leaders in the Senate and tireless fighters for the state of Michigan.<\/p>\n<p>Representative Dan Kildee \u2014 we rode up together \u2014 he\u2019s the most \u2014 one of the most effective members in the United States Congress and a good friend. (Applause.) No, he really is. And thanks for your partnership over the past couple of years, pal. I \u2014 I really mean it. And you\u2019re doing a lot to revitalize American manufacturing in Michigan and across the country.<\/p>\n<p>And Representative Slotkin came up on the plane with me. Where \u2014 is she here today? (Applause.) There you are. I\u2019m \u2014 I \u2014 I love her. I\u2019m very careful with her because she\u2019s former CIA. I\u2019m really worried. (Laughter.) She \u2014 (laughs) \u2014 good to see you. Thanks for your \u2014 your work on so many important issues in this state and everything you do to support service women and men and our veterans all over the world. And \u2014 and all those issues that, as my dad used to say, we used to talk about at the kitchen table, they\u2019re the bread-and-butter issues, and you work like hell on all of them. And I appreciate it.<\/p>\n<p>And I also want to thank the leaders of SK siltron css. And I met with the \u2014 some of their folks as well in Korea. They\u2019re a first-rate operation, and they\u2019re going to create a lot of good-paying jobs here, Rev. They\u2019re going to do that pretty soon. (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>I recently got back from a trip literally around the world. You know that \u201caround the world in 80 days\u201d? Well, I did in six. (Laughter.) And I started off in Egypt and ended up in Guam and coming on home. And we ended with a meeting in Indonesia with the G20, the 20 largest economies in the world.<\/p>\n<p>And it was clear in those meetings \u2014 and I mean it sincerely \u2014 that the rest of the world views the United States as better positioned than any other nation \u2014 any major nation in the world to lead the world economy in the 21st century. And that\u2019s not a joke.<\/p>\n<p>Here we have a strong sense \u2014 our strong sense of what all the leaders in the world and \u2014 look to us about. And they see resilience in the American economy. And we\u2019re seeing that here at home as well with investments like we\u2019re going to talk about today.<\/p>\n<p>Together, with the help of your elected leaders here today, we had an extraordinary two years of progress. We passed the American Rescue Plan. (Applause.) Now, everybody knows that the \u2014 we did so much; no one knows the effects of it yet. We\u2019re just \u2014 just \u2014 they\u2019re just coming into play.<\/p>\n<p>What that little plan did with the billions of dollars we spent is it kept tens of thousands of cops, firefighters, teachers, first responders on the job in 50 states because they lost income because of the significant reduction in employment in those states. And it provided them the money to be able to keep everyone employed.<\/p>\n<p>We fully vaccinated \u2014 when I came to office, there were 2 million people vaccinated. We vaccinated 220 million people, saving thousands of lives. (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>And we\u2019re rebuilding our infrastructure. And, Governor, we\u2019re fixing the damn roads. (Applause.) Well, I cam- \u2014 I came and campaigned for the first time she ran for governor. She ran on the platform of \u201cfix the damn roads.\u201d Well, it stuck in my mind. I kept my promise. We\u2019re going to fix your damn roads in a big way, to the tune of billions of dollars \u2014 bridges and airports as well.<\/p>\n<p>And we\u2019re lowering prescription drug cost. Anybody \u2014 a senior citizen on Medicare, the fact \u2014 I mean, the fact is that \u2014 and it won\u2019t take effect until January 1st, but from that point on, you\u2019ll pay $35 for your insulin, not $400 a month for your insulin. (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>And we\u2019ve strengthened American manufacturing. We\u2019ve creating more jobs in the first two years of any presidency: 735,000 manufacturing jobs. (Applause.) Manufacturing jobs. And we\u2019re still counting. (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>And Michigan will once again become the manufacturing hub of the nation, and that\u2019s not a joke. Because when I got to the United States Senate as a 29-year-old kid \u2014 I had to wait a couple days to be sworn in \u2014 but when I got there, this was the \u2014 one of the epicenters of manufacturing.<\/p>\n<p>And we\u2019re addressing the climate crisis as well. The climate plan we just passed is going to reduce emissions by 1 billion metric tons by 2030.<\/p>\n<p>And because of our po- \u2014 our policies, gasoline prices are coming down. And what\u2019s most exciting about it: People are starting to feel a sense of optimism and the impact of these legislative achievements in their own lives.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s going to accelerate in the months ahead. And so many things \u2014 you\u2019re going to find out what we\u2019ve already done that we haven\u2019t been able to actually implement yet. We\u2019re in the process of doing it.<\/p>\n<p>And it\u2019s part of a broader story about the economy we\u2019re building that works for everybody \u2014 you know, one of the \u2014 one that grows from the bottom up and the middle out, not from the top down.<\/p>\n<p>When it grows from the bottom up and the middle out, the wealthy do very well \u2014 they don\u2019t get hurt at all \u2014 but working pe- \u2014 poor folks get a shot and a ladder up, and middle-class folks get a shot, as my dad would say, just to have a little breathing room. A little breathing room. And that positions America to win the economic competition of the 21st century.<\/p>\n<p>My dad used to have an expression, and I mean it sincerely. Matter of fact, it was quoted to me today by one of the congressmen. He used to say, \u201cJoey, a job is about a lot more than a paycheck. It\u2019s about your dignity. It\u2019s about your place in your community.\u201d Literally. Not a joke. Think about it. It\u2019s about being able to look your child in the eye and say, \u201cHoney, it\u2019s going to be okay.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s what a job should be about. And thousands of Michiganders are going to be able to look their child in the eye and say, \u201cHoney, it\u2019s going to be okay. It\u2019s going to be okay.\u201d (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>Back in July when the chairman of SK, who is here today, came to the White House, we talked about a $50 billion investment SK is making in the United States. At the time, they wouldn\u2019t let me come down from the \u2014 from the third floor because I was exposed to COVID. I didn\u2019t have it yet, but they were worried about me exposing other people.<\/p>\n<p>And so, as he said, it was like \u201cAlice in Wonderland.\u201d I\u2019m up on the third floor in that balcony and waving to the chairman of SK, saying, \u201cYou are coming, aren\u2019t ya?\u201d (Laughter.) \u201cYou are coming, aren\u2019t ya?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But, look, they produce everything from semiconductors to electric vehicle batteries to chargers, pharmaceuticals.<\/p>\n<p>And part of the investment is coming right here in Bay City to produce semiconductor materials for the small computer chips that power our everyday lives: smartphones, washing machines, hospital equipment, automobiles \u2014 just to name a few.<\/p>\n<p>They\u2019re especially critical for powering electric vehicles, which you can use 2- to 3,000 chips per single vehicle just to \u2014<\/p>\n<p>And, by the way, think about it: General Motors, Ford, Stellantis \u2014 all manufacturing electric vehicles made by the UAW here in Michigan. (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>And, by the way, if you can hold for a second, my \u2014 the person who introduced me \u2014 everybody thinks, because I\u2019ve been so pro-union my whole career \u2014 everybody \u2014 and I talk about it, and I talked about this with SK in Korea and here: You\u2019re the best workers in the world. You\u2019re the most qua- \u2014 I\u2019m not just \u2014 I\u2019m not being nice. You\u2019re the most qualified workers in the world.<\/p>\n<p>What most people don\u2019t know: This man here did not four years of college \u2014 five years learning this trade. Five years working at it. (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>They\u2019re the best in the world. I mean it. Most people don\u2019t know it. Most people who think, \u201cI want to be a pipefitter\u201d \u2014 and you show up and they give you a wrench. Come on, man. I\u2019m serious. We have the best workers in the world. The most qualified workers in the world.<\/p>\n<p>And, by the way, you know, I wanted \u2014 the middle class built America, and unions built the middle class. (Applause.) That\u2019s a fact. That\u2019s a fact. And that\u2019s coming from the boy who grew in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and Claymont, Delaware. (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>No, I really mean it. We sort of forgot. We forgot how critically important the skill of the labor force we have in the United States of America. We need these chips to make vehicles. SK said \u2013excuse me \u2014 SK came along and is making the material that goes into these computer chips. So instead of relying on chips made overseas in places like China, the supply chain for those chips will be here in America, in Michigan. It\u2019s a game changer. (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>America invented \u2014 I reminded the chairman of SK, who\u2019s become a good acquaintance, we invented the chip in America. We invented the chip in America. Then we got lazy.<\/p>\n<p>Federal investment helped reduced the cost of creating a market and a higher \u2014 an entire industry that America led. As a result, over 30 years ago, America produced 30 percent of all the chips in the world. Then something happened.<\/p>\n<p>American manufacturing, the backbone of our economy, got hollowed out. Companies began to move jobs overseas instead of products overseas, because it was cheaper for them. That\u2019s why it happened.<\/p>\n<p>I come from the corporate capital of the world. There are more corporations incorporated in Delaware than every other state in the union combined. And guess what? A lot of businesses got greedy, go to the cheap labor overseas.<\/p>\n<p>Well, now we\u2019re sending good products overseas made by first-class labor. (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>Folks, as a result, today we\u2019re down to producing only around 10 percent of the world\u2019s chips despite leading the world in research and design of new chip technology.<\/p>\n<p>Why does this matter? I had a long meeting with Xi Jinping at the G20. We have met for over 80 hours over the last 10 years. We know each other well. And he\u2019s a little upset that we\u2019re deciding we\u2019re going to, once again, be \u2014 you know, and so are our European friends. They\u2019re talking about the supply chain. We\u2019re going to be the supply chain. And the difference is going to be we\u2019re going to make that supply chain available to the rest of the world, but we\u2019re not going to be held hostage anymore. (Applause.) I mean it.<\/p>\n<p>We saw it during the pandemic when overseas factories that make these chips shut down because of the pandemic, the global economy began to comes to a halt, driving up costs for families.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, one third of the core inflation last year is because of the price of automobiles. They couldn\u2019t get the computer chips so they couldn\u2019t make the automobiles, so the price of the fewer automobiles that are being made went way up. They had to shut down. Workers on the shop floor got laid off. Prices went up because cars were in short supply.<\/p>\n<p>The reason I pushed for the passage of the CHIPS and Science Act is because I knew we could turn things around. I\u2019ve never been more optimistic about America than I have been in the last several years. And I mean that sincerely.<\/p>\n<p>Not just here in Michigan but all over the country, semiconductor companies are investing literally several hundred billion dollars over the next 10 years. Several hundred billion dollars in a field of dreams right outside of Columbus, Ohio. Thirteen thousand employees; five thousand full-time. You don\u2019t need a college degree for 80 percent of the jobs there, and the average salary is $126,000. (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>Look, a record amount of money to bring chip production back home \u2014 that\u2019s what that legislation did. And we\u2019re bringing other key parts of the supply chain back to \u2014 supply chain back to America as well.<\/p>\n<p>Think about it: Ten years ago, how many of you knew what the hell a supply chain was? (Laughter.) No, I\u2019m serious. It\u2019s a phrase \u2014 when I started talking about supply chains, people were going, \u201cSupply\u2026\u201d No reason why they should have been. It\u2019s not because they weren\u2019t smart; we didn\u2019t have to rely on the rest of the world.<\/p>\n<p>We \u2014 we led the world. And because of the IBEW and I got elected, we\u2019re going to lead it again. (Applause.) I mean it.<\/p>\n<p>Companies in every part of the country are expanding factories, building new ones to make electric vehicle batteries and chargers, creating thousands of jobs in the process.<\/p>\n<p>Folks, where is it written that America will not lead the world in manufacturing again? Where\u2019s that written?<\/p>\n<p>Now the United States is a top destination for companies across the globe looking to make investments in manufacturing again. They see what I see, what you see: We have world-class, high-skilled, highly committed workers. Union workers.<\/p>\n<p>Union workers are the most highly trained, highly skilled workers in the entire world. That\u2019s not a joke; that\u2019s a fact. That\u2019s a fact.<\/p>\n<p>They\u2019re building these factories. They\u2019re working in them as well. This wasn\u2019t built. This was here.<\/p>\n<p>But many of the other places where these investments are taking place for semiconductors are building from scratch. The factories we\u2019re in are going to a make big difference.<\/p>\n<p>And now, I know many of you who are watching at home are like the folks I grew up with in Scranton \u2014 in Pennsylvania and in Claymont, Delaware. You felt left out for a long time. Used to be a really thriving economies. The economy left you behind. The industry that\u2019s rapidly changing \u2014 you were left out.<\/p>\n<p>I understand it. My family understands it. That\u2019s why when coal died in Scranton, we moved down to Claymont, Delaware, which is a steel town. It used to have thousands of workers \u2014 6,000 steel workers. They\u2019re all gone now.<\/p>\n<p>Delaware used to have the largest percentage of auto workers of any na- \u2014 any state in the nation. The largest General Motors plant outside of \u2014 they\u2019re all gone. It\u2019s gone.<\/p>\n<p>But hear me: We\u2019re going to leave nobody behind this time around. Nobody. (Applause.) We\u2019re going to make sure all American workers with college degrees and without college degrees are prepared to compete with anyone in the world.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re working with companies and community colleges, technical schools, union-led apprentice train- \u2014 and training programs to make that happen.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, a few months ago, I announced a $52 million grant from the American Rescue Plan, which we passed 20 months ago, with the help of your congressional leaders here today. It\u2019s a partnership right here in Michigan, including the Big Three and the United Auto Workers to train our workers, upgrade our factories for the electric vehicle revolution.<\/p>\n<p>You know, we were talking on the way up in the plane. We had a little event that your congressman came to \u2014 I put together on the South Lawn of the White House.<\/p>\n<p>And in the process, I had the CEOs of all American auto companies. And Mary Barra, the Chairman of General Motors, was suing the state of California because they had a higher air quality standard than any other state. And \u2014 arguing it couldn\u2019t be higher than the national standard.<\/p>\n<p>And we had a little talk. I\u2019m not saying she did this because of our talk, but I asked her what was going on. And about two weeks later, she gave me a call. She said, \u201cI dropped the suit against California, and I commit to you we\u2019re going to go all electric at General Motors.\u201d Every other auto company did the same thing. They all stepped up. (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>So, just like over the last century, American workers built carburetors, now American workers are going to build vehicles, batteries in a new clean-energy economy.<\/p>\n<p>My approach to building the economy of the future is working because of the strong support of your delegation. Our economy grew at 2.6 percent the last quarter while inflation started to slow and unemployment stayed low.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s what that means for folks here at home. We\u2019ve added jobs every single month in my presidency \u2014 10 million total new jobs, more than any other administration in history in the first 20 months \u2014 more than 735,000 of them manufacturing jobs. (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>Exports is up \u2014 are up. And I mean this. We\u2019re making things here in America, as I said earlier, and we\u2019re shipping them overseas instead of shipping jobs overseas. (Applause.) Look, like we\u2019ve been doing for much too long. Like we were doing before I got elected President.<\/p>\n<p>Inflation at the grocery stores \u2014 thank God \u2014 is beginning to slow. Prices for things like clothes, television, and appliances are going down. That\u2019s good news for the holiday season.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier this month, we saw that the growth \u2014 price businesses pay for goods and services is also down.<\/p>\n<p>And here\u2019s the really good news: They\u2019re not down enough in Michigan, but gas prices are now back to where they were before Russia invaded Ukraine. They\u2019ve dropped $1.50 from their peak this summer. And in Michigan, they dropped $1.60 from their peak this summer. If you\u2019re a Michigan family with two cars, you\u2019re saving an average of $170 a month compared to what you\u2019re paying in the summer. That\u2019s real money.<\/p>\n<p>And across the country, the common price at the pump is $2.99 a gallon; it\u2019s much higher here. And the prices continue to go down.<\/p>\n<p>This isn\u2019t accidental. We\u2019ve been on this for months.<\/p>\n<p>Remember, I got criticized? In the face of Putin using energy as a weapon, I took some decisive action. I ordered the largest-ever release of pe- \u2014 from the petroleum reserve: 180 million barrels of oil. And I rallied our international partners to come up with their fair share as well.<\/p>\n<p>That helped put pressure \u2014 downward pressure on prices because we were producing more gasoline. That helped stabilize crude oil markets. It reduced prices at the pump.<\/p>\n<p>Now I\u2019ve been calling on energy companies who had the biggest years they\u2019ve ever had in all of their history to begin to pass on those savings to the pe- \u2014 American people at the pump, where they\u2019re going to be \u2014 going to be coming to them.<\/p>\n<p>And while these prices are lower, they\u2019re not low enough. I continue to call on the producers to invest their record profits in America for Americans.<\/p>\n<p>In America, we can do two things at the same time: We can increase production and lower prices for American consumers and businesses in the short term while accelerating our investment and transition to a clean-energy future. (Applause.) And I \u2014 we\u2019re going to do that. We\u2019re doing it.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s going to take time to get inflation back to normal levels as we keep the job market resilient. And we could see setbacks along the way, but we\u2019re laser-focused on this. I promise you: We\u2019re laser-focused on this.<\/p>\n<p>In the meantime, for the first time in a long time, we\u2019re investing in America and we\u2019re investing in ourselves. I signed a once-in-a-generation investment on our nation\u2019s roads, bridges, railroads, ports, airports, lead-free water systems, high-speed Internet, and the biggest investment in American infrastructure since Dwight Eisenhower\u2019s Interstate Highway System. Nothing has been as big since then.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re building 500,000 electric charging stations across the country. We have the money to do it. The great American road trip will be fully electrified when you\u2019re driving costs \u2014 along the I-10 or I-75 from here to Mi- \u2014 in Michigan.<\/p>\n<p>We just announced funding for Michigan Tech to help develop technology to recycle batteries in a way that uses less energy and reduces greenhouse gas emissions.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re making the single-largest investment ever \u2014 $1 billion \u2014 to clean up and restore areas around the Great Lakes, including \u2014 (applause) \u2014 including the Detroit River, the Kalamazoo River, Torch Lake. (Applause.) This is going to matter. It\u2019s going to matter for your kids and your grandkids in a big way.<\/p>\n<p>Mitch Landrieu, the head of our infrastructure program, was just down the road in Saginaw announcing hundreds of millions of dollars of funding to clean up drinking water across the state of Michigan and replace lead service lines. (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re making sure: No more Flints ever again. (Applause.) I mean it. No more Flints ever again.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re increasing capacity at the Port of Detroit, rebuilding platforms to handle dry-bulk cargo, improving the connection for rail lines so companies making things here in Michigan can get their products to market faster and cheaper.<\/p>\n<p>And when you see these big projects in your hometown and cranes going up, shovels in the ground, workers with hardhats, I want you to feel the way I feel: pride \u2014 pride in what we can do when we do it together. (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>So let me close with this: It\u2019s been a rough few hard years for hardworking Americans. For a lot of families, things are still tough. But there are bright spots where America is reasserting itself, and this is one of those bright spots. I also \u2014 it\u2019s also happening in places like New York, Idaho, Arizona, Ohio.<\/p>\n<p>I asked the CEOs of the Fortune 500 companies a question: When the United States decides to invest considerable resources in new industries that we need to build up, does that encourage or discourage them to get in the game and invest? And the universal answer was it encourages them to get involved and invest.<\/p>\n<p>Federal investment attracts private-sector investments. It creates jobs and industries. It demonstrates we\u2019re all in this together. And that\u2019s what today is about. I said for a long time: If we invest in America, we can change this country.<\/p>\n<p>We used to \u2014 one \u2014 one of my staff is \u2014 anybody is tired of hearing me saying it. You know, we used to invest 2 percent of our GDP in pure research and development. The federal government invested in that. That got down to 0.7 percent. Well, we used to rank number two; now we rank number eight in the world. What the hell is going \u2014 what\u2019s going on? (Laughter.)<\/p>\n<p>No, I\u2019m serious. Think about it. We can change this country\u2019s future. That\u2019s what we\u2019re doing. And the whole world is looking now to invest here in America again. Again. (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve been determined to make things in this country again, to build American manufacturing capacity, and to make sure that we\u2019re never again in a position where we were during the pandemic.<\/p>\n<p>Some folks didn\u2019t believe we could do it, but I made no bones about it. I\u2019ve never been more optimistic about America\u2019s future than I am today.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re building a better America. We just have to keep it going. I know we can. We\u2019re proving it\u2019s never been a good bet \u2014 it\u2019s never, ever, ever been a good bet to bet against America. Never, never, never. (Applause.) I mean it. It\u2019s never been.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re the only country in the world where every crisis we\u2019ve come into, we\u2019ve come out stronger than we went in \u2014 because it\u2019s who we are.<\/p>\n<p>We just remembering \u2014 you need to remember who the hell we are. We\u2019re the United States of America, and there\u2019s nothing \u2014 nothing, nothing we can\u2019t do if we do it together. (Applause.) So let\u2019s keep this going.<\/p>\n<p>God bless you all. And may God protect our troops. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. (Applause.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Bay City, Michigan&#8230;Hello, Michigan! (Applause.) Hello, hello, hello, hello! I\u2019ll tell you what: I \u2014 if I \u2014 my mom is looking down from Heaven and saying, \u201cApologize to these people because you have their \u2014 you have their back to them.\u201d I apologize \u2014 (laughter) \u2014 because I\u2019m going to be talking that way. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":151861,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_cbd_carousel_blocks":"[]","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,5,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-151860","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-government","category-news","last_archivepost"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Fullscreen-capture-11292022-110702-PM.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151860","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=151860"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151860\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":151862,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151860\/revisions\/151862"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/151861"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=151860"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=151860"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=151860"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}