{"id":52670,"date":"2018-02-06T08:06:44","date_gmt":"2018-02-06T16:06:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/69.46.6.243\/?p=52670"},"modified":"2018-02-06T08:06:44","modified_gmt":"2018-02-06T16:06:44","slug":"president-trump-speaks-on-tax-reform-in-visit-to-the-sheffer-corporation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/?p=52670","title":{"rendered":"President Trump Speaks on Tax Reform in Visit to the Sheffer Corporation"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Blue Ash, Oh&#8230;Oh, I love the state of Ohio.  What great memories.  (Applause.)  And we\u2019re starting to boom, you know that.  It\u2019s great to be back in Ohio, and be here with the hardworking men and women of Sheffer Corporation.  Congratulations.  (Applause.)  We have a lot of great people with us today.  We have our Secretary of the Treasury, Steven Mnuchin.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/1-Fw0pU8MqM\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; encrypted-media\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>A man that you know very well and has done an amazing job and a great job in helping us with the massive tax cuts that are helping everybody so much.  And everyone has fallen in love with it.  I\u2019ll tell you, Rob Portman, he knows his stuff.  Thank you, Rob.  Thank you.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>A terrific guy, a friend of mine from day one, and he\u2019s been behind me from day one, Jim Renacci.  Jim.  Jim, thank you.  Jim has been a great friend of mine.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>Lieutenant Governor Mary Taylor, and Secretary of State Jon Husted.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>And another great friend of ours, Brad Wenstrup, couldn\u2019t be here.  He\u2019s \u2014 Army Reserve duty.  That\u2019s okay, right?  That\u2019s a good excuse.  That\u2019s the only excuse we\u2019d accept.  Great guy.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>I want to thank you all, and I want to thank Jeff Norris and everyone here at Sheffer Corporation for hosting us at this really incredible facility.  We just toured it.  I love equipment.  (Laughter.)  And I love workers.  You have them both.  But it\u2019s really something.  Wonderful place.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m here in the beautiful Cincinnati.  I\u2019ll tell you, you know I was here \u2014 I worked here for a long time.  People don\u2019t know; most people don\u2019t know.  Swifton Village, long time ago.  Really?  Oh, you know Swifton.<\/p>\n<p>Came here a long time ago.  I had a great success with my father.  I was a young success.  And, you know, if I didn\u2019t have a success, maybe I would have gone and just done something else.  Who knows?  But I spent a lot of time in this state and a lot of time in Cincinnati, and I love it.<\/p>\n<p>And what I really want to do \u2014 and come here and give something very big back.  And that\u2019s tax cuts, I signed into law.  Your paychecks are going way up.  (Applause.)  Your taxes are going way down.  And right now, for the first time in a long time \u2014 and you\u2019ve seen it \u2014 factories are coming back.  Everything is coming back.  They all want to be where the action is.  America is once again open for business.  Right?  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ve already created nearly 2.6 million jobs since the election, including more than 200,000 new jobs in manufacturing.  We love manufacturing.  (Applause.)  Those are real jobs, not the other kind where they talk but there\u2019s nothing there.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re bringing back those four magnificent words: \u201cMade in the USA.\u201d  (Applause.)  We\u2019ll count \u201cUSA\u201d as one word.  Is that okay?  (Laughter.)  I just said \u2014 have to think about that one.  (Laughter.)<\/p>\n<p>Unemployment claims have hit a 45-year low.  Think of that.  I mean, just think of that.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>And something that I\u2019ve been talking about for two years \u2014 campaigning, and everyone said, you\u2019ll never do it.  After years of wage stagnation, wages \u2014 you saw what happened two days ago and a month ago \u2014 wages are now, for the first time in many years, rising.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>In fact, more companies are pursuing pay increases right now than at any time in the last long period of time \u2014 they actually say, in the 21st century.  Can you imagine that?  It\u2019s amazing what people with some good ideas can do.  It\u2019s amazing what we\u2019ve done together.<\/p>\n<p>This has been an incredible journey, but it\u2019s happening even faster.  And wait until you see GDP over the next year or two.  Wait until you see what happens to our country.  Because people can feel it.  Billions and billions of dollars are being poured back into the United States.<\/p>\n<p>At the center of America\u2019s resurgence are the massive tax cuts that we just passed before Christmas.  Remember two things.  Number one, I said, \u201cWe\u2019re going to be saying \u2018Christmas\u2019 again.\u201d  And, number two, I said I was going to give you a Christmas present.  (Laughter and applause.)<\/p>\n<p>And I don\u2019t know if you remember, I was going to sign it around January 5th.  And then I heard one of the hating groups on television: \u201cHe promised a Christmas present.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Now, here\u2019s a thing that hasn\u2019t been done in a long time, many years \u2014 really never done to this extent.  You include ANWR, which is tremendous energy potential.  And you include getting rid of our individual mandate \u2014 the worst thing there is in Obamacare, which really leads to the repeal of Obamacare.<\/p>\n<p>When you look at those things \u2014 I mean, there hasn\u2019t been anything.  But I said, I want to give them a great Christmas present.<\/p>\n<p>So January 5th \u2014 so I heard them say, \u201cHe didn\u2019t make it with the Christmas present.\u201d  So I said, \u201cYou know what?  Move that bill up a few days.  We\u2019ll move.\u201d  And it was rather inconvenient for a lot of people.  I said, \u201cWe have to sign it.\u201d  So we signed it just before Christmas.  Better, right?  (Applause.)  Better.<\/p>\n<p>Otherwise I would have been hearing \u2014 Rob \u2014 \u201cHe did not fulfill his campaign obligation or promise\u201d.  Right?  So now they can\u2019t say it.  Just one more thing we check off the list.<\/p>\n<p>But it is the biggest tax cut and reform in American history.  And at the heart of our plan is tremendous relief for working families and for small businesses.<\/p>\n<p>A typical family of four, earning $75,000, will see an income tax cut of more than $2,000 a year \u2014 and you\u2019re already seeing it \u2014 slashing their income tax bill in half.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>We nearly doubled the standard deduction, meaning the first $24,000 dollars earned by a married couple will be 100 percent tax-free.  Not bad.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>And we have doubled the child tax credit.  That was compliments very much of Ivanka Trump.  She would press us.  Right, Rob?  (Applause.)  She would press us.  Pretty amazing.  But we got it done.  Not easy.<\/p>\n<p>And we had, by the way, we had no Democrats.  We had nobody.  Not one.  Including your other Senator, who voted against it.  No, he voted against it.<\/p>\n<p>I don\u2019t care \u2014 Republican, Democrat \u2014 they voted against it.  And if they ever got in, and if they ever took over, your taxes would go way up and you\u2019d see some bad things happening.  So, wouldn\u2019t be good.  That I can tell you.  Would not be good.<\/p>\n<p>When I signed the tax cuts six weeks ago, it set off a tidal wave of good news that continues to grow every single day.  Before the ink was dry, companies were announcing thousands and thousands of new jobs and enormous investments to their workers.<\/p>\n<p>Apple announced a $350 billion investment in America.  And when I heard it, I said, \u201cNo, no.  They mean $350 million.\u201d  Because I\u2019ve been saying to the head of Apple \u2014 good guy, Tim Cook \u2014 from the beginning \u2014 as soon as I first met him, I said, \u201cTim, it\u2019s not complete until you start building plants in our great states.  Otherwise, when you build them where you\u2019re building them, I\u2019m not interested.  You got to build them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And believe me, the reason it\u2019s happening is because of what we did.  But I heard the number.  I heard \u201c350,\u201d and I figured it was $350 million.  That\u2019s a big plant.  You know, $350 [million] is big.  Even for your great company, it\u2019s big.  (Laughter.)<\/p>\n<p>So I figured they\u2019re going to build a big, beautiful plant someplace.  Then they came to me.  They said, \u201cSir, it\u2019s not $350 million.  It\u2019s $350 billion.\u201d  Right?  (Applause.)  That\u2019s a big number.  I would have been happy with the $350 million, but you know, I like this number slightly better.<\/p>\n<p>And they\u2019re going to do incredible things.  They\u2019re going to build plants.  They\u2019re going to build a tremendous campus.  They\u2019re going to hire 20,000 people.<\/p>\n<p>Mobil just announced a fantastic $50 billion investment, if you look at that.  Exxon Mobil.  Fantastic.<\/p>\n<p>Fiat Chrysler announced 2,500 jobs are coming back to Detroit \u2014 to Motor City.  Two thousand five hundred.  And do you know where they\u2019re coming from?  (Applause).  Mexico.  (Applause.)  No, think of it.<\/p>\n<p>Nothing against Mexico.  We are re-negotiating NAFTA, I can tell you that.  We are renegotiating.  (Applause.)  I\u2019ve been telling you that for a long time.  I\u2019ve been \u2014 either you renegotiate or you terminate.  But we\u2019re renegotiating.  We\u2019ll see what happens.<\/p>\n<p>But Chrysler, leaving Mexico, coming back to Motor City with a massive plant.  I mean, you haven\u2019t heard that in \u2014 how many years would you say, Rob?  Thirty?  Twenty-five?<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re reversing it.  And many other companies are coming back and many other car companies are coming back.  And a lot of them, which is of most interest to you, are coming back to Ohio.  (Applause.)  They\u2019re coming back here.  Right here.<\/p>\n<p>And right here in Cincinnati, on this very beautiful factory floor, the Sheffer Corporation announced that every single worker was getting a $1,000 tax cut bonus.  You are so generous.  Thank you.  (Applause.)  Congratulations, everybody.  That\u2019s good.  That\u2019s good.<\/p>\n<p>Hardworking, patriotic Americans like you are what make this country run, and run like no other.  But we took away all of that pride and all of that incentive and we\u2019re losing so many of our companies and we\u2019re losing so many jobs.<\/p>\n<p>And how long have I been talking about this?  Ten, fifteen, twenty years, I\u2019ve been talking.  You know, some of you have heard me saying this as a private businessperson \u2014 \u201cWe\u2019re losing all our jobs.  We\u2019re losing our companies.\u201d  They\u2019re coming back.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s your grit, it\u2019s your pride, and your determination to do the job right.  It\u2019s the foundation of American strength and the key to America\u2019s future.<\/p>\n<p>But you know, you can work hard, but if you don\u2019t have the right leader setting the right tone \u2014 in all fairness, I\u2019m not even saying \u2014 I am non-braggadocios.  (Laughter)  But if I don\u2019t set a tone like, \u201cYou\u2019re not going to keep taking our jobs.\u201d  You\u2019re not going to keep doing what you\u2019re doing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And wait until you see what\u2019s happening over the next two or three months with what we\u2019re doing to countries that have treated us so unfairly.  In many cases, so-called \u201cfriendly countries.\u201d  I don\u2019t call them \u201cfriendly.\u201d  I don\u2019t call them \u201cfriendly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But it\u2019s all changing and those companies are coming back and those jobs are coming back.<\/p>\n<p>So you are among more than 3 million Americans who have received a tax cut bonus because of the tax cuts that we just signed into law.<\/p>\n<p>Everywhere I go, I love to hear what people plan to do with the money.  So, I thought we could take a few minutes to hear from some of your coworkers.  You know who I\u2019m talking about, right?  I assume you like these people.  (Laughter.)  I assume it\u2019s central casting.  Right, boss?<\/p>\n<p>Tyler Berkshire \u2014 do you know him \u2014 joined Sheffer Corporation through an apprenticeship \u2014 come on up here, Tyler \u2014 six years ago.  And now he is a machinist, and a talented one.  (Applause.)  They like him, okay.<\/p>\n<p>Nice to be loved.  It\u2019s nice to be loved.  I figured they would only send popular ones up here, you know.  (Laughter.)  The unpopular ones \u2014 don\u2019t\u2019 worry, you don\u2019t have to worry about.  (Laughter.)<\/p>\n<p>In addition to his $1,000 bonus, his paychecks are bigger because he\u2019s paying less taxes.  Tyler, you\u2019re up here.  I\u2019m going to give you a chance \u2014 like, maybe 30 seconds or less \u2014 (laughter) \u2014 to explain what you\u2019re going to do with all that extra money.  In this case, over $1,000.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>MR. BERKSHIRE:  Thank you, Mr. President.  And with the tax cut and the bonus, I will be trying to save up money to start a family and eventually get a bigger house.  (Laughter.)<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Oh, I like that idea.  That\u2019s good.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>MR. BERKSHIRE:  And I appreciate all your hard work that you\u2019ve been putting in, and all your \u2014 Rob Portman, and everybody else.  So I just want to say thank you.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  I appreciate it, Tyler.  That\u2019s beautiful.  (Applause.)  Beautiful job.  Thank you, Tyler.  Beautiful job.  Thank you, Tyler.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s a good guy there, Jim.  I think he\u2019ll probably be very supportive of you.  (Laughter.)  I think everybody is going to be supportive.  We need people that are going to do a great job and keep us in the right direction.  (Applause.)  You know, we need them badly too.  Or it all goes back to where it was and worse.<\/p>\n<p>Oh, but did we catch them in the act, or what?  You know what I\u2019m talking \u2014 (laughter) \u2014 oh, did we catch them in the act?  They are very embarrassed.  They never thought they were going to get caught.  We caught them.  Hey, we caught them.  It\u2019s so much fun.  We\u2019re like the great sleuth.  (Laughter.)<\/p>\n<p>Deana Spoleti is also with us.  Where\u2019s Deana?  She joined Sheffer \u2014 come on up, Deana \u2014 in 2012 as a customer service rep, and has climbed her way all the way up to become a manager.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>Deana is looking at a tax cut of $1,500 and that is on top of her $1,000 that Sheffer is already giving her.  So that\u2019s $2,500-plus.  What are you going to do with that money Deana?  How are you?<\/p>\n<p>MS. SPOLETI:  I\u2019m good, thank you.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.<\/p>\n<p>MS. SPOLETI:  Thank you for being here.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.  Thank you, Deana.<\/p>\n<p>MS. SPOLETI:  When they asked me what this would mean to my family, really what it means to my family is the same that it means to all hardworking American families right now who are reaping the benefits of your tax cuts.  It means that we\u2019ll have money in the bank, more money to make ends meet.<\/p>\n<p>Personally, for my family, my husband Tim and I are in the process of buying a home.  And in the fall, both of kids, Katie and Matthew, will be going to college.  So we\u2019ll be using that money.  That will be like a bonus we receive \u2014 thank you, Sheffer \u2014 a one-time bonus, but it will be an ongoing bonus in our paycheck every week.  And it will just help us make ends meet.  So thank you very much.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Wow.  Great job.  Thank you.  (Applause.)  Beautiful.<\/p>\n<p>Oh, I\u2019m glad she\u2019s not running against you, Jim.  That\u2019s very good.  Thank you very much.  She\u2019s doing a great job?<\/p>\n<p>AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Yes.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Good.<\/p>\n<p>Like Tyler and Deana, millions of workers are thrilled to have more money to save for their children\u2019s college, or to fix their home, or put aside money for a rainy day.<\/p>\n<p>But believe it or not, Nancy Pelosi and those in Congress who want to raise your taxes \u2014<\/p>\n<p>AUDIENCE:  Booo \u2014<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  They want to raise your taxes.  They don\u2019t want to give the money to the military, where we need it.  You know, without the military, we might not be here, or we might not be here for long, believe me.  (Applause.)  Believe us all.<\/p>\n<p>Nancy Pelosi \u2014 what she\u2019s doing to this country.  And she\u2019s gone so far left, and Schumer has gone so far left.  Oh, I look forward to running against them.  (Laughter.)<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ve got to do well in \u201918, and I know we\u2019re going to do great in \u201920.  But I think we\u2019re going to do well in \u201918.  I think we\u2019re going to do well in \u201918.  I think we\u2019re going to do very well.  (Applause.)  They have gone left.  They want to raise your taxes.<\/p>\n<p>You know, I figure we\u2019re safe.  Historically, when you win the presidency \u2014 you know the story.  Just, for whatever reason it is \u2014 and I think I figured it out.  Nobody, really, has been able to explain it properly.  I think I figured it \u2014 the party wins the presidency.  And now the people are happy and you see tax cuts, in this case, or whatever that party is \u2014 but you see the big tax cuts, you see what we\u2019re doing, jobs are coming back.<\/p>\n<p>And the people that voted for us become complacent a little bit.  They\u2019re happy.  And it\u2019s only two years \u2014 between \u201916 and \u201920 \u2014 and so it\u2019s two years.  So it\u2019s a short time.<\/p>\n<p>So the people are happy.  And they don\u2019t get out, and they don\u2019t vote like they should.  Maybe they go to a movie in \u201918.  None of you are going to a movie, I hope.  Right?<\/p>\n<p>So what happens is, they sort of take it for granted.  They sit back.  And then they get clobbered because the other people are desperate.  And they get out and they have more energy.<\/p>\n<p>But I think, because of what we\u2019ve done, because of the tremendous success we\u2019ve had, I have a feeling that we\u2019re going to do incredibly well in \u201918.<\/p>\n<p>And I have to say this:  History is not on our side.  But it\u2019s not because of that word, \u201ccomplacency.\u201d  You win the presidency and you take it easy, and then they come and surprise you in the midterms.  They call them the \u201cmidterms.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ve got to get out there and win or they\u2019re going to take \u2014 and I say it \u2014 a Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer.  They want to raise your taxes.<\/p>\n<p>They don\u2019t want to give the money to the military, which we have to.  Because our military, because of Obama and even beyond Obama \u2014 it\u2019s depleted.  It\u2019s in bad shape.  And we\u2019re going to build it stronger than it ever was before.  We\u2019ve already started.  We\u2019ve already started.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>So that\u2019s what happened.  And that\u2019s happens in midterms.  But we\u2019re not going to let it happen to us.  I mean, it\u2019s \u2014 traditionally, that\u2019s what goes on.<\/p>\n<p>AUDIENCE MEMBER:  They never met Donald Trump.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Oh, I love that person.  Whoever \u2014 where is he?  (Laughter.)  I love him.  I knew I liked that man.  I saw him standing \u2014 thank you.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>But we\u2019re going to be in there fighting because we don\u2019t want that tradition to go.  We want to have tremendous success.  We want to get Jim in, and we want to get a lot of other people in.  But we have to have to have tremendous \u2014 we have to have tremendous success.<\/p>\n<p>And if we don\u2019t, we\u2019re just foolish.  We can\u2019t \u2014 I know we\u2019re going to do great in \u201920 because, by that time \u2014 see, what happens is, if you did badly \u201918, now you\u2019re all angry again and you\u2019re going \u2014 and now, \u201920 comes along.  But we want to do great in \u201918.  And we\u2019re going to do really well in \u201920.  That\u2019s when we go again, and we keep this great journey going, okay?  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>So start thinking about \u201918, start thinking about November, start finding out exactly that little slot.  You\u2019re not going to a restaurant \u2014 although you could.  You could go and vote, and go to a restaurant.  But that\u2019s what happens, and we\u2019re not going to let that happen to us.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to the bonuses created by our tax cuts, economists estimate that our business tax cut will raise the income of a typical family by an average of $4,000.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>So Nancy Pelosi, again, said that\u2019s \u201ccrumbs.\u201d  Well, she\u2019s a rich woman who lives in a big, beautiful house in California who wants to give all of your money away.  And she talked about crumbs.<\/p>\n<p>And I really think her statement about crumbs \u2014 because you\u2019re getting thousands and thousands of dollars, and you\u2019re getting it every year.  So I think her statement \u201ccrumbs\u201d will be equivalent \u2014 and I said this the other day for the first time.  When I first heard the word \u201cdeplorable\u201d \u2014 (laughter) \u2014 I thought it was a bad thing, but I had no idea it was not going to be good for our opponent.<\/p>\n<p>It was not good because about two days after she said it, I go to a rally.  And everyone is wearing shirts, \u201cI am a deplorable.\u201d  \u201cWe\u2019re all deplorables.\u201d  (Applause.)  I said, what\u2019s going on with the word \u201cdeplorable,\u201d Rob.  You know, we had that, right?  It just went pretty wild.  It was not a good day for her.<\/p>\n<p>And I think this is not a good day for Nancy Pelosi.  She\u2019s our secret weapon.  (Laughter.)  No, she\u2019s our secret \u2014 I just hope they don\u2019t change her.  There are a lot of people that want to run her out.  She\u2019s really out there.  And I\u2019m supposed to make a deal with her?<\/p>\n<p>But you know, the other day \u2014 did anybody happen to see the State of the Union Address?  Right?  Okay.  (Applause.)  So I got good marks.<\/p>\n<p>But I said, we have the lowest black unemployment in the history of our country.  It was like \u2014 it was a game.  You know, they play games.  They were told, \u201cDon\u2019t even make a facial movement.\u201d  And I\u2019m talking about, you have the lowest Hispanic unemployment in the history of our country.  This isn\u2019t me saying \u2014 this is the charts, the polls.  We have the lowest in the history of our country.  Dead silence.  Not a smile.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, there was one guy \u2014 when I said, the lowest African American unemployment, he was sort of clapping like \u2014 who was that guy?  He was a nice guy.  I think he was a reverend.  And he was clapping.  And I wouldn\u2019t say it was exactly a rousing \u2014 but he was putting his hands together.  And I want to find out who he is.  I\u2019m going to send him a letter of thank you.  And he was probably severely reprimanded.  Don\u2019t you think, Rob?  I think so \u2014 because he was the only one.<\/p>\n<p>So that means they would rather see Trump do badly, okay, than our country do well.  That\u2019s what it means.  It\u2019s very selfish.  And it got to a point where I really didn\u2019t even want to look too much during the speech over to that side.  Because, honestly, it was bad energy.  That was bad energy.<\/p>\n<p>You\u2019re up there, you\u2019ve got half the room going totally crazy, wild \u2014 they loved everything, they want to do something great for our country.  And you have the other side, even on positive news \u2014 really positive news, like that \u2014 they were like death and un-American.  Un-American.<\/p>\n<p>Somebody said, \u201ctreasonous.\u201d  I mean, yeah, I guess, why not?  (Laughter.)  Can we call that treason?  Why not?  (Applause.)  I mean, they certainly didn\u2019t seem to love our country very much.<\/p>\n<p>But you look at that, and it\u2019s really very, very sad.  So we have to keep it going because this country is turning, and it\u2019s turning much faster.  And I said I\u2019m going to do it, but it\u2019s happening faster than I thought.<\/p>\n<p>And a big part of it is the fact that the companies kicked in because nobody saw that.  AT&#038;T came in, another one came in, another one \u2014 Comcast.<\/p>\n<p>So many companies kicked in \u2014 hundreds.  Now it\u2019s going to end up being thousands of companies.  This company, too.  It\u2019s a little smaller than AT&#038;T, but we\u2019ll take it.  (Laughter.)  For the people in this room, it\u2019s much more important than AT&#038;T.  Right?  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>But great companies like this \u2014 many companies.  And that\u2019s \u2014 honestly, we said, come February 1st, nobody is going to beat it because you\u2019re going to get your checks and you\u2019re going to see you have more money.  Because they\u2019re taking a lot less taxes out of your check.  And I just don\u2019t think that anybody can beat it.<\/p>\n<p>And Senator Brown voted against us, and fought us like crazy.  Okay?  Just remember that.  He voted against you.  Just \u2014 when you go in there, he voted against you.  Not good.  Not good.<\/p>\n<p>So we\u2019ve gone from being one of the highest-taxed countries anywhere in the world to being one of the most competitive because when our workers have a level playing field, which they didn\u2019t have, they can compete and win against anyone in the world.<\/p>\n<p>And that goes for our companies.  But we were forcing our companies out.  Now we\u2019re bringing our companies back in.  And if they don\u2019t want to come in, that\u2019s okay.  But they\u2019re not going to be so happy, believe me.  And I told you that a long time ago.  It\u2019s not like the old days.<\/p>\n<p>And when our workers win, who really wins?  Our country wins because we\u2019re all in this together.  We\u2019re one team, one people, and one family.  And we\u2019re saluting one great American flag, and everybody stood up yesterday.  There was nobody kneeling at the beginning of the Super Bowl.  (Applause.)  We\u2019ve made a lot of improvement, haven\u2019t we?  That\u2019s a big improvement.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>And on top of that, it was a good game.  So a lot of good things happened.  But there was no kneeling before that Super Bowl.<\/p>\n<p>Today, we\u2019re thrilled to be joined by several business leaders who understand just how true all of the things that we\u2019re saying are.  We\u2019re also thrilled to have a lot of the fake news media in the back.  Those cameras are rolling.  Hi, folks.  (Laughter.)  That\u2019s what good about doing it live.  They can\u2019t cut you.  (Applause.)  You know, when you do a tape, you end up saying, \u201cWell, wait a minute.  What happened to the four sentences that they cut out?  Where are those four sentences?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s true.  A lot of fake news, but that\u2019s okay.  Hey, they\u2019re doing their thing.  Whatever \u2014 I don\u2019t know what they\u2019re thinking, but they\u2019re doing their thing.<\/p>\n<p>I want to start with a man I watched today on Fox, and he was terrific \u2014 Jeff Norris.  Jeff, come on up.  (Applause.)  We know Jeff.  So we know every employee has already received a $1,000 bonus, and they\u2019ve gotten a lot of tax \u2014 really lower tax \u2014 so they\u2019re doing a lot better.  But Jeff, why don\u2019t you tell us a little bit more about your plans for the future of the company, and also what you have in mind for the money, which is going to be a lot, that you save on taxes.<\/p>\n<p>MR. NORRIS:  Thank you.  Well, first of all, welcome everybody here.  And it\u2019s such a blessing to have you here, President Trump.  In all my years, you pray for a President like this that will take care of the working class and businesses, and we finally have one here.  And I\u2019ll talk about my stuff in a little bit \u2014 (laughter) \u2014 but we need to make sure that we support President Trump, especially in 2018.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>And we need to vote out people that are an obstacle to him.  In manufacturing, our job is to remove obstacles.  This man can remove obstacles, and we need to clear the path for him.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>What we plan on doing with the tax savings: invest it in our people, our processes, and our equipment, and continue to try to make America great again.  And like you said before, we\u2019ve got the greatest workforce in the world, we just need a level playing field just a little closer.  It doesn\u2019t have to be there; just a little closer because our people can do it.  And I\u2019m just proud to have you as our President.  And I wish you the best, and God bless you.<\/p>\n<p>Thank you, Mr. Trump.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  You\u2019ve been doing such a good job.  I want to thank you for doing such a great job, too.  Thank you.<\/p>\n<p>AUDIENCE:  USA!  USA!  USA!<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  That\u2019s what it\u2019s all about.  That\u2019s true.<\/p>\n<p>Greg Carmichael is the CEO of Fifth Third Bancorp \u2014 big bank \u2014 which is headquartered right here in Cincinnati.  Greg, please step up.  Tell us what you\u2019re doing, with respect to all of those incredible workers.  You have 14,000 of your employees, and you\u2019re doing something very special for them, so I\u2019d like to hear it.  Thank you, Greg.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>MR. CARMICHAEL:  Mr. President, thank you.  Thank you for everything you\u2019ve done for our nation.  And we thank you for your efforts and your leadership in bringing tax reform to America.<\/p>\n<p>At Fifth Third Bank, we\u2019re already feeling the effects of the tax benefit, and we\u2019re working to pass those benefits onto our employees.<\/p>\n<p>Immediately upon the announcement of the passing of the legislation, Fifth Third Bank announced an investment in our employees that included raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour, and providing a $1,000 bonus for over 13,500 of our valuable employees.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  That\u2019s good.  That\u2019s fantastic.<\/p>\n<p>MR. CARMICHAEL:  We\u2019re investing in our employees because of the contribution they make to our bank, to their families, and the communities in which they serve.<\/p>\n<p>Mr. President, thank you for bringing meaningful tax reform in jumpstarting the U.S. economy.  Thank you.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Fantastic.  Thank you.  It\u2019s a great bank, too.  Thank you very much.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s a lot of employees \u2014 14,000.  Big bank, great bank.<\/p>\n<p>Matt Schron is general manager at Jergens Incorporated, a manufacturing company founded by his family 75 years ago in Cleveland.  You must be very rich.  (Laughter.)  Matt, why don\u2019t you come on up and tell us about these massive cuts and how they\u2019re benefitting your people, your employees, your workers.  Thanks, Matt.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>MR. SCHRON:  Mr. Trump, thank you very much for your leadership on this tax reform.  I\u2019m honored to be here today representing Jergens and the manufacturing community.  Jergens was founded in 1914 during World War II, manufacturing airplane seat components.  Today, we\u2019re a worldwide leader in workholding, fixturing, and specialty fasteners.<\/p>\n<p>Last year was a record year for Jergens.  And thanks to your tax cuts, we see continued success in the future.  Jergens is going to be using your tax breaks to invest in our greatest asset: our employees.<\/p>\n<p>In April, during our annual performance reviews, we\u2019re going to be doubling the annual rate increases that we will be providing our employees.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.  Wow.<\/p>\n<p>MR. SCHRON:  In addition, we\u2019re going to be using your tax break to invest in capital for our machine shop, and also research and development for our company, which will help us to hire more people in the future.<\/p>\n<p>So, Mr. Trump, your tax break has three benefits:  one, more money for our employees; two, we\u2019re going to have more equipment for our facility; and three, we\u2019re going to be able to hire more people.<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Trump, thank you very much for your leadership in the tax reform.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you, Matt.  Thank you very much.  (Applause.)  Great job.  Great company.  Great company.  Thank you very much.  Great job you\u2019ve done.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, Chris Irion is the CEO of e-Cycle, an environmental services company in Columbus that recycles and resells smartphones.  Let\u2019s see, you recycle smartphones.  Think about that one.  (Laughter.)  What about when they smash those phones with a hammer?  (Laughter.)  Can you bring them back to life?  Oh, what you would find.  Oh, can you imagine that, Rob, what we would find?  Do most people, when they toss a phone, do they smash them with a hammer?  No?  Not too many.<\/p>\n<p>Well, if you could recycle them, I\u2019m with you all the way, Chris.  (Laughter.)  I just saw that, I said, \u201cBoy, this is exciting.\u201d  Could be the most exciting part of this visit.  (Laughter.)<\/p>\n<p>Come on up, Chris.  I understand that you have a big announcement to make.  Let\u2019s give us the news.  Thank you.<\/p>\n<p>MR. IRION:  Thank you, Mr. President.  I\u2019m pleased to announce that e-Cycle paid out our largest bonus in company history this past Friday.  One-hundred percent of all of our hourly and salaried employees participated in this bonus program of over $350,000.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Great.<\/p>\n<p>MR. IRION:  In addition, due to the greatest tax reform package just passed in U.S. history, we\u2019re celebrating with an additional $1,000 tax reform bonus for all of our 55 employees.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>For all the e-Cycle team members watching right now, thank you for everything that you do.<\/p>\n<p>Thank you again, Mr. President, for believing in the American worker and the American Dream.  You just made America great again.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.  (Applause.)  Thank you, Chris.<\/p>\n<p>And thank you all for investing in our great American workers and our great American companies.  Every job you create makes our country stronger and the future of our country brighter.<\/p>\n<p>Jobs are about more than paychecks.  Good jobs are the cornerstone of a safe and a strong and a proud America.  There is nothing more important than the sense of pride and accomplishment that comes at the end of a hard day\u2019s work.  And all of us \u2014 me, you, all of us in this room \u2014 we know that feeling.  Just about every day, we know that feeling.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s why we want every American to know the dignity of work, the pride of a paycheck, and the satisfaction of the statement, \u201cJob well done.\u201d  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>Creating good jobs is also an important part of fighting the drug epidemic that has affected millions of Americans, bringing new hope to struggling communities.  And it\u2019s gotten to a point where it\u2019s never been worse.<\/p>\n<p>People form blue ribbon committees, they do everything they can.  And, frankly, I have a different take on it.  My take is, you have to get really, really tough \u2014 really mean \u2014 with the drug pushers and the drug dealers.  We can do all the blue ribbon committees we want.  (Applause.)  We have to get a lot tougher than we are.  And we have to stop drugs from pouring across our border.<\/p>\n<p>AUDIENCE MEMBER:  You got to build that wall.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Oh, we\u2019re building the wall.  Believe me.  We\u2019re building the wall.  Don\u2019t even think about it.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>Somebody said, the other day, \u201cWell, he really didn\u2019t want to build the wall.  He was just using that \u2013\u201d We\u2019re building the wall, or a lot of other things aren\u2019t going to happen.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>And the ones that don\u2019t want security at the southern border or any other border, are the Democrats.  They don\u2019t care about the security of our country.  They don\u2019t care about MS-13 killers pouring into our country.  And we bring them out almost as fast as they come in.  But nobody was bringing them out before us.  And these are killers.<\/p>\n<p>But our guys are tougher than them, and that\u2019s what we need.  Sorry.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>And our Democrats ought to get smart, and they ought to get tough, or the situation is going to get very bad.  But we\u2019re going to win.<\/p>\n<p>As we speak, our wonderful First Lady is visiting Cincinnati Children\u2019s Hospital Medical Center, hearing directly from doctors about their incredible work treating beautiful, precious, little babies who are born addicted to opioids, and how government can help them save lives.<\/p>\n<p>And, actually, Mrs. Portman is with Melania right now.  They\u2019re together.  Your wife, I hear, does an incredible job with the hospital.  So thank you, Rob, very much.  Appreciate it.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>America will not overcome this epidemic overnight.  But just like Americans always will \u2014 I do think we have to change our ways, and we will \u2014 but we will prevail.  We\u2019re going to beat it.  We\u2019re going to get tough, we\u2019re going to get angry, and we\u2019re going to win.<\/p>\n<p>Our children are being decimated.  You know, one drug dealer can kill thousands of people.  One drug dealer.  If you ever did an average \u2014 nobody has ever seen this, you\u2019ve probably never heard this before \u2014 but if you ever did an average, a drug dealer will kill thousands of people.  And we don\u2019t even come down on these people.  So it\u2019s time to start, and that time is now.  Right now.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>We want every American to live a life of meaning, of purpose, and of joy.  And we want every American to have a job they love so they can wake up each morning excited to go to work, like all of you people are.  Right?  You\u2019re excited.  You love it \u2014 thinking about where I\u2019m going to put that next big, beautiful machine.  One-year expensing.  (Laughter.)  You buy the machine now, one-year expensing.<\/p>\n<p>That will be one of the biggest things \u2014 nobody even talks about it \u2014 in our tax cut plan.  Right?  The one-year expensing.  Nobody thought they\u2019d ever see that in this country, and I think that\u2019s going to have a great incentive.  I think that\u2019s going to have a tremendous incentive.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>They don\u2019t talk about that one, and \u2014 you know, people don\u2019t talk about that.  Most people don\u2019t know what it means, but some of the people in this room do.  It\u2019s the one-year expensing.  You watch.  That\u2019s going to have a big impact.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s why our tax bill also creates new opportunity zones rewarding those who invest in distressed communities and create more jobs for those who have, too often, simply been left behind.<\/p>\n<p>Workers will not only make more money because of our tax cuts.  Starting this month, you will keep that money in your pocket, in your bank, or you may want to buy something.  But you\u2019re going to keep the money that you earned.  You\u2019re going to spend it.  The government won\u2019t be spending it for you.  Something really nice about that.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>Families in the great state of Ohio \u2014 remember, for two years, you heard, \u201cDonald Trump has to go through Ohio.\u201d  I said, I love Ohio.  I worked here.  I was here.  I lived here.  I mean, it was great.<\/p>\n<p>But they said, \u201cDonald Trump has to go through Ohio.\u201d  And did we ever go through Ohio.  Right?  (Applause.)  We went through Ohio.<\/p>\n<p>And now it\u2019s much better than even Election Day.  I saw that \u2014 they just showed that to me inside.  Much better than even Election Day.  And we did well on Election Day.  That was about one minute after the polls closed.  \u201cDonald Trump has won the state of Ohio.\u201d  That wasn\u2019t too close, right?  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re going better now because \u2014 you know what?  Now, we\u2019re producing.  Before it was talk.  See, before it was talk.  It was like the State of the Union.  Now, they thought I gave a State of the Union last year that was really good.  They didn\u2019t call it the State of the Union because you weren\u2019t there for a year.  But it was nevertheless, sort of, the same thing.  They thought it was very good.<\/p>\n<p>But they said, this was one better because last time was aspirational.  I said, \u201cWe\u2019re going to get this, we\u2019re going to get that.\u201d  And we\u2019ve actually produced much more than I said I was going to produce.  When\u2019s the last time you heard that?<\/p>\n<p>With judges; with the Supreme Court Justice, Gorsuch, who is great; with so many different things.  (Applause.)  And then, of course, topped off by the tremendous tax cuts and the individual mandate, and all of the different things we\u2019ve done \u2014 ANWR.  So many different things.<\/p>\n<p>And, by the way, the big thing that nobody talks about that you would be talking about: regulation.  We\u2019ve cut regulation.  I actually think \u2014 I\u2019m here to talk about tax cuts \u2014 but I actually think that cutting regulation has more of an impact, or as much.  We have cut more regulation in one year than any President has cut in four, eight, or, in one case, sixteen years.  More.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>And we have a ways to go.  We haven\u2019t finished.  We\u2019re probably 47, 48 percent of the way there.  We have a ways to go.  Some of it\u2019s statutory.  You can only go so fast.  You have to do this, and then wait 90 days.  Do this, and wait 120 days.  But all those clocks are ticking.<\/p>\n<p>Families in Ohio will see a tax cut of more $8 billion this year \u2014 $8 billion.  That\u2019s good.  That\u2019s good.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>And even more good news.  Major electric and gas companies are lowering your utility prices and your utility bills because of tax reform, which is a big win not only for families, but a really big win, when you think of it, for the manufacturers.  For places like this.<\/p>\n<p>The energy costs are going down.  Like, other countries \u2014 they\u2019re going up.  You know why ours are going down, right?  Because I believe in a lot of good, clean, but old-fashioned stuff that really works and really has power behind it.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s never been a better time to hire in America, to invest in America, and to start living the American Dream.  There\u2019s never been a better time than this.  Because the future of America doesn\u2019t belong to the privileged few, it belongs to all of the people \u2014 all of those people that I saw for two years now.<\/p>\n<p>It belongs to those people.  The forgotten man and women.  They worked hard.  They paid taxes.  They worked hard.  They paid taxes.  That\u2019s what they did.  They worked; they worked; they worked.  They paid; they paid; they paid.  And then they were forgotten by the politicians.  You\u2019re not forgotten anymore.  You\u2019re not forgotten anymore.  And that\u2019s what happened on November 8th, they weren\u2019t forgotten.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>Now the Democrats are trying to figure, \u201cLet\u2019s see.  You know we forgot about those people for about 100 years.  How do you get them back into the fold?\u201d  It\u2019s not going to be so easy for them because you\u2019re going to remember.  It belongs to the hardworking men and women who play by the rules, follow our laws, and give their best, and who never, ever, give up.<\/p>\n<p>The fact is, the future belongs to you.  You are the ones who raise America\u2019s great and beautiful families, support America\u2019s communities, and uphold our values, our principles, and the American way of life.<\/p>\n<p>Workers like you carve the steel into our skyscrapers \u2014 and I just got to see a lot of it \u2014 by great machinists, by great mechanics, by great people.  You build the machines that power our cities and teach the next generation of children what it means to be a proud American.<\/p>\n<p>You are the ones who are shaping our destiny.  You are the ones who are restoring our prosperity.  And you are the ones who are making America great again.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>We love you, Ohio.  God bless you.  I will see you soon.  We\u2019ll be back.<\/p>\n<p>Jim, get in there and fight.  Get in there and fight.  We need you.  We need you.<\/p>\n<p>Rob, thank you very much.  Thank everybody.  God bless you.  Thank you.  Thank you very much.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Blue Ash, Oh&#8230;Oh, I love the state of Ohio. What great memories. (Applause.) And we\u2019re starting to boom, you know that. It\u2019s great to be back in Ohio, and be here with the hardworking men and women of Sheffer Corporation. Congratulations. (Applause.) We have a lot of great people with us today. We have our [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13330,"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-52670","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\/2015\/12\/whitehouselogo200.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52670","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=52670"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52670\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/13330"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=52670"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=52670"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=52670"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}