{"id":73819,"date":"2019-01-31T23:01:26","date_gmt":"2019-02-01T07:01:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/69.46.6.243\/?p=73819"},"modified":"2019-01-31T23:01:26","modified_gmt":"2019-02-01T07:01:26","slug":"president-trump-at-signing-of-executive-order-strengthening-buy-american-preferences-for-infrastructure-projects","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/?p=73819","title":{"rendered":"President Trump at Signing of Executive Order, \u201cStrengthening Buy-American Preferences for Infrastructure Projects\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Washington, DC&#8230;Well, thank you very much.  I\u2019m honored to be here with many of the great American workers as we take historic action to accelerate the incredible revival of American manufacturing.  It truly is a revival.  Nobody thought it was possible, actually.  And not only is it possible, but we\u2019re thriving.  We\u2019re also grateful to be joined by Secretary Acosta, Administrator McMahon, and Representative Robert Aderholt, Mario Diaz-Balart.  And we\u2019re working on a lot of interesting projects in your neck of the woods, aren\u2019t we, huh?  How\u2019s that all going?<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/QHkxi_xrsro\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>REPRESENTATIVE DIAZ-BALART:  Mr. President, you are a champion of freedom in this country.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  I didn\u2019t expect that.  I never told him to say that.  (Laughter.)  Well, that was a great move.  Every once in a while (inaudible).  (Laughter.)  And you too, that I can tell you.  Thank you very much.  I appreciate it.<\/p>\n<p>Robert Aderholt.  Robert, thank you very much.  David Joyce, Anthony Gonzalez, and David Rouzer.  Thank you all for being here.  We really worked hard on this.  And I appreciate your support.<\/p>\n<p>In the eight years before I took office, we lost nearly 200,000 manufacturing jobs.  They were leaving.  People were talking about the fact that you needed a magic wand; you\u2019ll never bring them back.  You remember the previous administration, he said that they said \u2014 he said \u2014 they all said you needed a magic wand; manufacturing jobs were over.  I guess you people heard that too.  It was a little bit discouraging.<\/p>\n<p>And since the election, we\u2019ve gained more than 500,000 jobs \u2014 and that number is going to be very soon to 700,000 jobs \u2014 all in the manufacturing world, which is a beautiful world, a high-paying world, and very important for our country.<\/p>\n<p>Last year, we saw the biggest increase in manufacturing employment in more than 20 years.  Early in my presidency, I issued an executive order directing the federal government to live by two very crucial rules: Buy American and hire American.  And I think that sounds appropriate.  Remember in the old days?  It was not that.  It was almost the opposite.  You\u2019d say, \u201cWhere are they coming from?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Thanks to my executive order and a really great group of people, we have increased reliance on American-made goods very, very substantially.  Federal agencies are now spending an additional $24 billion on American-made products instead of going to other countries or foreign-made products.<\/p>\n<p>Federal spending on foreign goods is now the lowest it\u2019s been in more than 10 years, and it\u2019s going down very substantially.  And, by the way, we don\u2019t get treated great by many countries in terms of our trade deals, and that\u2019s changing rapidly.  But we are now looking out a little bit for ourselves and it\u2019s about time.<\/p>\n<p>Today, I\u2019m taking action to build on this tremendous success by strengthening the Buy American principle for federal infrastructure and federal spending.<\/p>\n<p>We want American roads, bridges, and railways, and everything else to be built with American iron, American steel, American concrete, and American hands.  And if you look at what\u2019s happened with the steel industry, it\u2019s actually amazing.  The steel industry is thriving now and it was dead when I came to office.  It was dead.  It was a dead industry.  They were dumping steel all over the place.  The jobs were going.  And if any of you were in the steel industry, I think you can probably tell them, you know.  And aluminum, too.<\/p>\n<p>But when you look at what\u2019s happened to the steel industry, it\u2019s been incredible.  One of the great successes.  And now prices are starting to come down because they\u2019re competing with each other.  Nucor and U.S. Steel and so many of these companies, they\u2019re building many, many plants all over the United States.  And as those plants open, they\u2019re finally competing with themselves.<\/p>\n<p>We literally were not going to have steel companies.  We weren\u2019t going to make steel in this country.  And that in itself is a very important thing.  We have to have steel.  There are some products you have to have.  And, by the way, steel is one of them.<\/p>\n<p>You talked about defense \u2014 how do you do it without steel and aluminum and the kinds of things that we\u2019re really very heavily focused on.<\/p>\n<p>By signing this order today, we renew our commitment to an essential truth: It matters where something is made, and it matters very greatly.<\/p>\n<p>When I came to office, and I witnessed for many years \u2014 for decades, frankly \u2014 they didn\u2019t care where it was made.  I care where it\u2019s made.  It should be made right here in the USA.  And we\u2019ve taken a very strong stand.<\/p>\n<p>I want to introduce, before I sign, Peter Navarro and Kevin Hassett, two of my great economic people.  And they\u2019re going to give you a little talk as to what\u2019s happened and how good we\u2019re doing.<\/p>\n<p>Peter, do you want to start?<\/p>\n<p>MR. NAVARRO:  Thank you, Mr. President.  I remember back during the campaign, the naysayers said that this President could not restore the manufacturing base.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m just going to show you a couple pictures here.  What we have here is a chart that shows the loss of 192,000 jobs during the eight years of the Obama administration.  It did tick up a little bit during Obama\u2019s last two years: 73,000.  But it is absolutely dwarfed by the policies of this President: 473,000 since Inauguration Day, and over 500,000 since the election.<\/p>\n<p>And then you can see how the emphasis is on this administration in putting men and women who work with their hands to work.  You can see the jobs created in the Obama administration: One percent of the total job gains were manufacturing compared to 10 percent.<\/p>\n<p>And the folks here that you see on the President\u2019s right come from across this great country, and they build essentially the mother\u2019s milk of Americana.  It\u2019s lamppost, it\u2019s fire hydrants, it\u2019s water mains.  And we salute these workers today coming in this White House.<\/p>\n<p>Kevin is going to show you another chart that shows how these distribution of manufacturing gains are across this country, and then we\u2019ll kick it back to Mr. President.<\/p>\n<p>CHAIRMAN HASSETT:  And again, the economics literature, Mr. President, when you were running for office basically said that manufacturing was going the way of agriculture in the previous century; that it was just on an inevitable decline as a percentage of GDP.  But it also focused a lot on this idea that there was a rust belt in America.  There was a place where there used to be manufacturing, where there was disproportionate harm to workers.<\/p>\n<p>And I think the thing that\u2019s really, really interesting about the manufacturing jobs that have been created by our policies \u2014 your policies \u2014 are that they\u2019re scattered throughout America.  The dark red part is a place where manufacturing jobs are up by 20 percent or more since you last took office.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Wow.  That\u2019s fantastic.<\/p>\n<p>CHAIRMAN HASSETT:  And then the lighter reds are 10 percent or more.  And the lightest red is 5 percent or more.<\/p>\n<p>But if you look at all the pockets all across the country, including in places that people used to call the Rust Belt, where manufacturing employment is booming, what it means is that there\u2019s basically a boom belt from coast to coast that\u2019s been created by our policies.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Well, you know, Kevin, when I took over, the Rust Belt was really in trouble.  Many people were saying it\u2019s dying, it\u2019s dead; people were leaving.  And I love the Rust Belt, and the Rust Belt is no longer the Rust Belt as far as I\u2019m concerned.  It\u2019s vibrant.  It\u2019s doing so well.  You look at all of those red marks, those red marks are where it\u2019s flourishing.  Tremendous numbers.  And that\u2019s fantastic.  We\u2019re very proud.<\/p>\n<p>I wish, frankly, that the media would report how well we\u2019re doing in manufacturing, how well we\u2019re doing with the economy.  They don\u2019t seem to report how well we\u2019re doing.  I think if you had another President, it would be the biggest story, because it really is the biggest story, or certainly one of the biggest stories.  And you see the market, how it is.  It hit 25,000 yesterday.  We\u2019re doing great.  We\u2019re doing great as a country.<\/p>\n<p>And we have a lot of bite-back because other countries are not doing well.  China is having a very hard time.  They\u2019re here now.  We\u2019re going to be seeing them a little bit later.  We\u2019re trying to work out a new trade deal with China.  I think it will happen.  Something will happen.  But it\u2019s a very big deal.  It will be \u2014 if it does happen, it will be, by far, the largest trade deal ever made.<\/p>\n<p>And we essentially didn\u2019t have a trade deal with China.  We lost $500 billion with China, for many years, a year.  Anywhere from $300- to $500-, $505 billion a year was lost in our dealing with China.  And I have a very good relationship with President Xi, and I think we\u2019ll sit down at the end \u2014 at the end of the negotiation by our representatives \u2014 and do something with respect to making a deal with China.  I think it has a very good chance of happening.<\/p>\n<p>But China is having a very hard time with their economy, and the European Union is having a hard time.  A lot of things going on.  And we\u2019re getting tremendous numbers.  Tremendous unemployment numbers \u2014 among the best we\u2019ve ever had in the history of our country.  Individual groups the best: African Americans, Hispanics, Asians, women.  Numbers that we haven\u2019t seen before.  The overall is the best numbers.  Best employment numbers in 51 years.<\/p>\n<p>So we\u2019re doing really well.  I wish the press would report it.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m going to sign this.  Before I do, I think I want to just ask a few of you folks, would you like to say something?  Anybody?  Anybody want to become a congressman by (inaudible)?<\/p>\n<p>MR. MULLER:  Mr. President, I\u2019d like to thank you for the tax cuts.  It\u2019s been rocket fuel for our business for manufacturing.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you very much.  That was great.  Charlie?  That was great.<\/p>\n<p>MR. FORTNEY:  Mr. President, I\u2019d like to thank you for the \u2014 this Buy American push that you\u2019ve got with federal funding for the infrastructure that\u2019s Buy American.  It\u2019s jobs for us.  And it puts us in a position where we can compete.  Otherwise, we tend to walk to away from jobs where foreign competition is going to take our business.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.  We\u2019re changing that fast.<\/p>\n<p>MR. FORTNEY: Thank you.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Big difference.  Big difference.<\/p>\n<p>MS. HARRISON:  And I\u2019m with McWane, in Birmingham.  We\u2019re based out of Birmingham, Alabama.  We have seen a tremendous uptick.  We\u2019re representing several divisions with McWane here, but thank you for everything you\u2019ve done.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  That\u2019s great.  Great group.  Thank you.  Thank you all very much.  You want to say anything?  Anybody else?<\/p>\n<p>Anybody want to become a congressperson?<\/p>\n<p>MS. MARTINEZ:  Just that it gives us an opportunity to hire, obviously even more opportunities that we have to fill positions as jobs increase.<\/p>\n<p>MR. FORTNEY:  That\u2019s Brenda Martinez with U.S. Foundry.  She\u2019s our HR, and she hires people when we get more work.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Big difference.  Right?<\/p>\n<p>MS. MARTINEZ:  Yes.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you all very much.<\/p>\n<p>So how about our politicians?  Now, they want to say, that I know.  (Laughter.)  These people \u2014 they\u2019re not shy.<\/p>\n<p>REPRESENTATIVE ADERHOLT:  Well, let me say, first of all, that this is a very commonsense, a bipartisan piece of executive order that the President \u2014 we have worked on legislation in the past that\u2019s worked this from the appropriations side from year to year.<\/p>\n<p>But what this executive order does, it goes beyond that and it really tries to make sure that we \u2014 as the President said, American hands are doing the job and this is what we\u2019re \u2014 when we go back home, we want to see our manufacturers do well.  We want to see them grow.  We want to see our workers do \u2014 have better jobs.  So thanks, Mr. President, for doing it.  So, thank you.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.  Appreciate it.<\/p>\n<p>MR. NAVARRO:  Mr. President, if I may \u2014 this gentleman here has been a long-time leader on the hill carrying the Buy American banner, and his leadership is very much appreciated.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  That\u2019s why he wins by so much.<\/p>\n<p>MR. NAVARRO:  Yes.  That is correct.  (Laughter.)<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  That\u2019s why he doesn\u2019t worry too much about races.  You know?  Just wins.<\/p>\n<p>REPRESENTATIVE ADERHOLT:  It helps when you\u2019ve got a district that he wins about 80 percent.  So \u2014 (laughter).<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  I think I did very well.  (Laughter.)  Come to think of it.<\/p>\n<p>REPRESENTATIVE ADERHOLT:  The best of 435 districts, so \u2014<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  That\u2019s great.  That\u2019s very nice.  Thank you very much.  Say hello.<\/p>\n<p>Linda?<\/p>\n<p>ADMINISTRATOR MCMAHON:  Well, thank you very much.  I hear from small businesses, you know, all over the country, and they are very happy to be buying American and hiring American.  And, you know, the job growth, it just speaks for itself.  And our businesses are growing and starting and expanding.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Great job you\u2019re doing too.  She runs the Small Business, and they\u2019re big business when you add it all up.  She\u2019s done a fantastic job \u2014 Linda McMahon.<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Secretary?<\/p>\n<p>SECRETARY ACOSTA:  Mr. President, you know, in the past, we\u2019ve encouraged individuals out there to buy American.  But what you\u2019re doing is so important because you\u2019re leading by example.  You\u2019re saying the federal government will buy American.  And we\u2019ve seen the impact last year with, you know, a 10-year record low in foreign purchases.  And this is going to take it to the next step, and it will translate into more jobs for individuals, just like those here today.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  It\u2019s having an incredible effect.  I mean, people don\u2019t realize it yet, but they\u2019re seeing it more and more.  We are mandating even pipelines and things that were made elsewhere.  They\u2019re starting to be made here because we have a steel industry again.  But it\u2019s having a tremendous effect.<\/p>\n<p>Please.<\/p>\n<p>REPRESENTATIVE JOYCE:  Thank you, Mr. President, I have been co-sponsoring a bill for years with Daniel Lipinski.  Couldn\u2019t get it to go anywhere.  I\u2019m honored that you\u2019re doing it today to force it into action because, as you said, these are American jobs.  It\u2019s American concrete, it\u2019s American steel, it\u2019s American asphalt.  Thank you for doing so.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you very much.  I appreciate it.<\/p>\n<p>REPRESENTATIVE ROUZER:  Well, Mr. President, you can\u2019t believe how much my folks back home in Eastern North Carolina appreciate your commitment to the American worker, and particularly the American farmer.  And I personally really appreciate you taking it to China.  They have eaten our lunch for a long, long time, and I appreciate you standing up and really fighting hard for our American workers, and the job creation that\u2019s going to result from that.  And keep plugging for America\u2019s farmers.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  So China, as you know, has opened up because of us to the financial services industry, which is a big thing.  Nobody thought that was possible.  And they\u2019ve opened up to financial services and things of the like.<\/p>\n<p>But I just want to let everyone know we won\u2019t have a deal if we don\u2019t open it up to the farmers, and we won\u2019t have a deal if they don\u2019t open it up to our manufacturers, and just all of it.  And I think China is very prone to do this.  So we\u2019re going to have a talk.  But we\u2019ve already got financial services.  A big impact.  You have tremendous amounts of money.  Tremendous amounts of people.  It\u2019s a whole different market, and a massive market.  I guess you could certainly say the biggest, or one of the biggest markets in the world, but maybe the biggest market in a certain way in the world.<\/p>\n<p>But we\u2019re the number-one country in the world economically.  I don\u2019t want people to forget that.  We\u2019re the number one.  And we were heading \u2014 we were heading south fast.  We were going down, and we turned it around.  And it started with the regulations that we cut.  We cut more regulations than any administration in the history of our country in two years.  And, actually, less than two years.  And it also was helped by the tax cuts.  Put a lot of people to work and really gave companies something where they\u2019re now coming back into our country, they\u2019re investing in our country, and they\u2019re expanding in our country.<\/p>\n<p>So, a lot of great things are happening.<\/p>\n<p>Mario?<\/p>\n<p>REPRESENTATIVE DIAZ-BALART:  Mr. President, I, again, it\u2019s amazing what leadership does.  The economy is booming, you\u2019re rebuilding our military, you\u2019re leading around the world.  Enough said.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.  I\u2019m liking this guy more and more.  (Laughter.)<\/p>\n<p>REPRESENTATIVE ADERHOLT:  Let me just add one thing that I have \u2014 this makes my 22nd year serving in the House of Representatives.  This President has stood up more for manufacturing jobs in Alabama and across the country \u2014 not just Alabama \u2014 than any President.  So I thank you for standing up.<\/p>\n<p>MR. NAVARRO:  And Robert and Mario have been leaders on the Reciprocal Trade Act, as well, that you\u2019re sponsoring.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  I know.  Reciprocal trade is going be very important.  We\u2019re going putting in a bill very soon, where when a country charges us tariffs that are massive, and we charge them nothing for the same exact product, we just say, \u201cHey, got to be equal.  You charge us, we charge you.\u201d  You could call it a reciprocal tax, but some people call it a mirror tax.<\/p>\n<p>So, if Europe, as an example \u2014 the EU charges us 72 percent tariff on corn, and they don\u2019t even want it, and we charge them nothing \u2014 it doesn\u2019t work that way anymore.  So, you know, I\u2019ve gone to many people that aren\u2019t that familiar with it, including politicians that you\u2019ll be dealing with soon.  And I went to a couple that are always tough.  I said, \u201cWhat do you think of that?  They charge us, we charge them.\u201d  They looked at me and they said, Robert, \u201cHuh.  Sounds fair to me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And, actually, you probably get rid of tariffs, because rather than charging 75 percent to nothing, now if you\u2019re both at 75, you say, \u201cLet\u2019s call it quits.  We\u2019ll go to nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>So it really has that impact too, as you know.  Please.<\/p>\n<p>REPRESENTATIVE GONZALEZ:  Thank you, Mr. President.  So, as you know, northeast Ohio is all about jobs and the economy.  And Dave and I are from the same neck of the woods.  And to see the cranes, buildings going up, to see steel jobs coming back \u2014 to your point, they said it couldn\u2019t be done, and now wages are going up.  When was the last time real wages went up?  It\u2019s been a while.  So keep doing what you\u2019re doing, and we support you in northeast Ohio on everything with the economy.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.<\/p>\n<p>REPRESENTATIVE GONZALEZ:  So, thank you.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  And they\u2019re getting \u2014 it\u2019s a beautiful thing because I opened up, as you know \u2014 the best iron ore, they say, virtually in the world is in Minnesota.  The big mines.  They were closed.  President Obama decided to close them.  I opened them.  And we\u2019re not bringing it in; we\u2019re taking it right from our own home.  And we\u2019re having it made in Ohio.  We have good ore in Ohio, too.  But we\u2019re having it made in Ohio, in Pennsylvania, in North Carolina, and all the different places.  It\u2019s been really incredible to see what\u2019s happening.  We don\u2019t need anything from outside of our own boundaries.  So that\u2019s been really great.<\/p>\n<p>Okay, let\u2019s go.  (Laughter.)  Does anybody want this pen?  Thank you very much.  Thank you all for being here.  I appreciate it.<\/p>\n<p>(The executive order is signed.)<\/p>\n<p>Okay, here you go.  (Applause.)  Thank you, everybody, very much.  I appreciate it.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Mr. President, (inaudible) your intelligence officials yesterday.  Do you still have confidence in Gina Haspel and Dan Coats to give you good advice?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  No, I disagree with certain things that they said.  I think I\u2019m right, but time will prove that.  Time will prove me right, probably.  I think Iran is a threat.  I think it\u2019s a very big threat.  And I think I did a great thing when I terminated the ridiculous Iran nuclear deal.  It was a horrible, one-sided deal that was $150 billion, plus $1.8 billion in cash, and lots of other bad things.<\/p>\n<p>If you remember, they took our 10 sailors out of waters that people are disputing, and made us look very bad.  But, of course, the payment was due the following day, so they eventually let them go, which they had to.  I disagree very much on that.<\/p>\n<p>I also think \u2014 and you\u2019ll be seeing something next week \u2014 because you look at what\u2019s happened in Syria with respect to ISIS and the caliphate.  We took over a lot of area in the last two weeks.  We\u2019ve done tremendous in the last couple of weeks.  At the same time, we\u2019re consolidating, and a tremendous amount of good things are happening.<\/p>\n<p>You even look at what\u2019s going on \u2014 and I can\u2019t tell you that this is a guarantee because we\u2019re going into close to 19 years in being in Afghanistan.  And, for the first time, they\u2019re talking about settling.  They\u2019re talking about making an agreement.  And we bring our people back home if that happens.  We\u2019ll see what happens, but they\u2019re in very serious negotiations for the first time.  There\u2019s a reason for that.<\/p>\n<p>So I think we\u2019re doing so well on a foreign policy basis.  If you look at North Korea \u2014 and many of you are going to be traveling with us to North Korea and \u2014 for the meetings with North Korea.  We\u2019re going to a certain location.  I think most of you know where the location is.  I don\u2019t think it\u2019s any great secret.  But we\u2019ll be announcing the location and the date \u2014 the exact date.  It will be at the end of February.  And we\u2019ve made tremendous progress with North Korea.<\/p>\n<p>When I came in \u2014 or, let\u2019s say, at the end of the last administration \u2014 frankly, it looked like we were going to war with North Korea.  Now there\u2019s no missile testing.  There\u2019s no rocket testing.  There\u2019s no nuclear testing.  We got back our prisoners or our hostages.  And we\u2019re getting back our remains; they\u2019re coming in.  And we\u2019ve had some beautiful ceremonies in Hawaii, other places.<\/p>\n<p>So I just tell you that we are doing really well.  Our military is being rebuilt.  It\u2019s very close to being rebuilt.  We have tremendous amounts of new aircraft, new ships, new weapons of all kinds, which we need \u2014 because, hopefully, the stronger we get, the less you have to use it.  I guess you know that from growing up in school.  The stronger we are, the less we\u2019re going to have you use it, and we don\u2019t want to have to use it.  But we\u2019re going to have the strongest military, by far, that we\u2019ve ever had.<\/p>\n<p>So I didn\u2019t see the report from the intelligence.  When you read it, it\u2019s a lot different than it was covered on in the news.  But I think that Iran is somebody \u2014 is a nation that we have to watch very closely.  They sent up a rocket the other day, and it failed.  But it was sent up.  Now, they can say they\u2019re sending it up for civilian purposes, but I don\u2019t think too many people believe that.  They\u2019re doing tests.  And we don\u2019t want to be in a position where we\u2019re behind.  We\u2019re not going to be leading from behind anymore.<\/p>\n<p>So that\u2019s the story.  I have great respect for a lot of people, but I don\u2019t always agree with everybody.  Okay?<\/p>\n<p>Q    What concessions has China made so far in the talks?  Anything on IP theft?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  So, it\u2019s great.  Well, we\u2019re going to \u2014 look, we\u2019re going to go into everything.  You probably saw, this morning I put out a statement.  We\u2019re going into everything.  This isn\u2019t going to be a small deal with China.  This is either going to be a very big deal or it\u2019s going to be a deal that we\u2019ll just postpone for a little while.<\/p>\n<p>But we\u2019ve been dealing with China.  We\u2019ve had a great relationship.  I have a great relationship with President Xi.  The relationship of my people to Chinese representatives has been very good.  They\u2019re negotiating now.  They\u2019ll be coming over here at about 4 o\u2019clock, and we\u2019ll be talking to, actually, one of the top leaders in China, as you know.<\/p>\n<p>I think that probably the final deal will be made.  If it\u2019s made, will be made between myself and President Xi.  But we\u2019re certainly talking about theft.  We\u2019re talking about every aspect of trade with a country.  And we\u2019re talking about fentanyl, too.<\/p>\n<p>As you know, most of the fentanyl \u2014 which is killing 80,000 Americans a year is \u2014 it comes through China.  And, in China, it was not criminalized.  And they\u2019ve agreed to criminalize fentanyl and give it the maximum penalty.  The maximum penalty in China, if you\u2019re selling drugs, is death; it\u2019s the death penalty.  And they\u2019ve agreed to do the death penalty for selling fentanyl.  And if it\u2019s shipped to the United States, that would be a very severe penalty.<\/p>\n<p>So I think that\u2019s going to have a tremendous impact.  We put that one item into the trade deal \u2014 the fentanyl.  I think that\u2019s a very important item to put in.  But they\u2019ve agreed \u2014 they\u2019ve agree, and agreed very readily \u2014 we really appreciate it \u2014 to criminalize the sale of fentanyl.<\/p>\n<p>Steve?<\/p>\n<p>Q    Do you think you\u2019ll make the March 1 deadline?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  I don\u2019t know.  I mean, it\u2019s \u2014<\/p>\n<p>Q    And you are going to add (inaudible)?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  I can tell you, there\u2019s \u2014 a lot of people are working.  What happens \u2014 we\u2019re charging large tariffs to Chinese products that are coming in, which hurts China.  As you know \u2014 you saw the reports \u2014 out of the 25 points, we\u2019re paying for four points out of the 25.  They\u2019re paying for 21.  That\u2019s a big difference.  I\u2019ve always said that.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re taking in billions of dollars.  And, frankly, we\u2019re creating a lot of industry.  But the rate goes from 10 percent to 25 percent on March 1st.  So they would like to do it, and I\u2019d like to accommodate them.  If we can, I\u2019d like to accommodate China if we can get the deal done.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a lot of work because this is a very comprehensive deal.  This isn\u2019t what we\u2019re talking about, you know, they\u2019re going to buy some corn and that\u2019s going to be it.  No, they\u2019re going to buy corn.  Hopefully, they\u2019re going to buy lots of corn, and lots of wheat, and lots of everything else that we have.  But they\u2019re also talking heavy technology, heavy manufacturing, financial services, and everything else.<\/p>\n<p>Q    So you may have to extend the talks beyond March the 1st?  Is that what you\u2019re saying, sir?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  I think we can do it by March 1st.  Can you get it down on paper by March 1st?  I don\u2019t know.  I can say, on March 1st, the tariff on China goes to 25 percent, and that\u2019s a big tariff.<\/p>\n<p>Q    I\u2019m just curious, what\u2019s the tone looking like for the State of the Union, sir?  And then, I don\u2019t know if you\u2019ve seen, the Democrats have tapped the rebuttal speech \u2014 Stacey Abrams, who ran for Governor of Georgia.  Any thoughts on their pick, sir, or any of the messaging?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Oh, I campaigned against Stacey Abrams.  I know that President Obama campaigned for her.  Michelle Obama campaigned for her.  And Oprah campaigned for her.  And all Brian had was me.  And he won fairly easily \u2014 you know, fairly easy.<\/p>\n<p>So I hope that she does a good job.  I mean, I respect her.  I don\u2019t know her.  I haven\u2019t met her.  But I hope she does a good job.<\/p>\n<p>Q    And the tone for your speech, sir \u2014 can you tell us \u2014<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  I think it\u2019s unification.  I think it\u2019s industry.  I think it\u2019s about the people that you see right here.  It\u2019s also working with these people, because they\u2019ve been incredible.  We have had some incredible report.  And we\u2019ve have incredible Republican support.<\/p>\n<p>The problem is, the Democrats \u2014 you know, when they say, \u201cWe don\u2019t want to build\u2026\u201d \u2014 as an example, \u201cWe don\u2019t want to build a wall because it doesn\u2019t work or because it\u2019s immoral.\u201d  Well, it\u2019s also immoral the people that come into our country that shouldn\u2019t be here and kill people.  That\u2019s immoral, too.  That\u2019s a lot more immoral.<\/p>\n<p>So \u2014 but I really think it\u2019s doing to be a speech that\u2019s going to cover a lot of territory.  But part of  it is going to be unity.<\/p>\n<p>Yeah, please.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Mr. President, Nancy Pelosi said this morning that there is not going to be a wall in this deal, but she did say she\u2019d be open to other kinds of physical barriers.  Would you accept that?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  No, because if there\u2019s no wall, it doesn\u2019t work.  She\u2019s just playing games.  So if there\u2019s no wall, it doesn\u2019t work.<\/p>\n<p>And we\u2019re building the wall right now.  I mean, a lot of people don\u2019t know that, but we have a lot of wall under construction.  We\u2019ve given out a lot of contracts over the last three, four weeks \u2014 good contracts.  A lot of wall is soon going to be under construction.<\/p>\n<p>We will be \u2014 we\u2019re finishing up design on certain areas, the most important areas \u2014 the Rio Grande area and others.  We are building a lot of wall.  You know, I\u2019m not waiting for this committee.  And I\u2019ve told a lot of people I don\u2019t expect much coming out of the committee because I keep hearing the words that, \u201cWe\u2019ll give you what you want, but we\u2019re not going to give you wall.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The problem is, if they don\u2019t give us a wall, it doesn\u2019t work.  Without a wall, it doesn\u2019t work.  We have caravans right now coming up from Honduras, who we give a lot of money to \u2014 which is stopping, by the way.  But we pay hundreds of millions of dollars to Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador.  And then they have caravans leaving their country, coming up here.<\/p>\n<p>And, by the way, if you go to Tijuana and you take down that wall, you will have so many people coming into our country that Nancy Pelosi will be begging for a wall.  She\u2019ll be begging for a wall.  She will say, \u201cMr. President, please, please give us a wall.\u201d  It\u2019d be very interesting.  Some people have suggested: Let me take the wall along California, let\u2019s move it to Arizona, let\u2019s move it to Texas.  And, you know, it\u2019s going to \u2014 it would be a very interesting statement.<\/p>\n<p>About Nancy: So, in California, they wanted the wall built in San Diego so badly.  And we built it.  And probably I should have waited, because as soon as it was finished, they started screaming, \u201cWe don\u2019t want a wall.  We don\u2019t want a wall.\u201d  But they wanted the wall so badly.  And, by the way, it worked.  Nobody is getting through.<\/p>\n<p>But the minute it was built, they started saying, \u201cWe don\u2019t want a wall.\u201d  Without a wall, it doesn\u2019t work.  It\u2019s very simple.  I mean, I\u2019m not saying this as a Republican.  I\u2019m not saying it as anything other than a fact-stater.  Without a wall, it just doesn\u2019t work.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Mr. President, after listening to the hardship from many federal government workers, as well as those who were contractors and who relied on the federal government employees\u2019 finances to fund their businesses, are you willing to jeopardize the economy again, and also your presidency, with people who are fearful of another government shutdown over this wall?<\/p>\n<p>And also, I want to ask you about Jussie Smollett.  Have you heard about that story?  In Chicago, a situation \u2014 the actor from \u201cEmpire\u201d who was allegedly attacked with racist and homophobic \u2014<br \/>\nTHE PRESIDENT:  That, I can tell you, is horrible.  I\u2019ve seen it last night.  I think that\u2019s horrible.  It doesn\u2019t get worse, as far as I\u2019m concerned.<\/p>\n<p>As far as the people are concerned, many of those people wanted me to stay out, but I didn\u2019t want to do it because people were getting hurt.<\/p>\n<p>People \u2014 what I think is the worst sin of all is the fact that we\u2019re allowing people to come into this country and sell drugs and human traffic, and do all of these horrible things.  That if we had the simplicity of a well-constructed, beautiful barrier or wall, they wouldn\u2019t be able to come into our country.  That, to me, is the great sin.  And everybody knows it works.  I watched this morning, early in the morning, somebody trying to justify walls are immoral.<\/p>\n<p>I mean, if walls are immoral, maybe we should take down all the walls that are built right now.  You will see a mess like you\u2019ve never seen before.<\/p>\n<p>So I only say this: I was elected partially on this issue \u2014 not as much as people say, but partially on this issue.  This is a very important issue.  Nothing to do with elections.  Nothing to do with votes.  Nothing.  Only to do with common sense and only to do with security.  And if we don\u2019t put up a barrier or wall \u2014 a strong one, but one that looks good \u2014 in the old days, they used to build them; they looked terrible.  Now we build them, they look really good.<\/p>\n<p>If we don\u2019t put up a physical barrier, you can forget it.  Our country is going to be a very unsafe place.  People are coming in.  Drugs are coming in.  Human trafficking is coming in, which is so horrible.  Things are happening that won\u2019t happen after the wall is constructed.<\/p>\n<p>So we\u2019re building a lot of wall.  We\u2019re building new sections that are starting in about two weeks.  We\u2019re building some brand new sections \u2014 large sections.  And the wall is getting built.  I would like to build it even faster, but it\u2019s getting built, and it\u2019s getting built very substantially, as some of you see because you\u2019ve been there.<\/p>\n<p>Yeah, please.<\/p>\n<p>Q    I have an immigration question.  But first, if I could just clarify something you said about North Korea.  Do you have an agreement with North Korea on the time and place for that next summit?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Yes.  I do.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Can you share it?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Yeah, we\u2019re going to very soon.  We\u2019re going to announce it pretty soon.  We\u2019ll be announcing it early next week.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Okay.  And you also said that \u2014<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  And they very much want the meeting, and I think they really want to do something.  We\u2019ll see.  But I think they really want.<\/p>\n<p>But again, remember, North Korea was a whole different story.  When I came to office, many people thought we were going to war with North Korea.  I would sit and listen, and I would read people saying, \u201cGo to war with North Korea.\u201d  Well, you\u2019d lose, I mean potentially, hundreds of millions of lives.  You know, Seoul has 30-some-odd million people, and it\u2019s literally right off their wall, by the way.  But that wall works, I can tell you.<\/p>\n<p>Q    About the wall, you just said that people make that out to be a bigger deal on your election than you \u2014<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Well, it was one of my points.  I had \u2014 yeah.<\/p>\n<p>Q    I mean, you would consider that the biggest campaign \u2014<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Now they say it\u2019s the wall, because I\u2019ve accomplished practically everything else.  Look, I accomplished the military.  I accomplished the tax cuts.  I accomplished the regulation cuts.  I accomplished so much.  The economy is the number-one economy in the world.  We\u2019re the number-one economy in the world.  We\u2019re the number one, not even close.  Companies are pouring into our country.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve accomplished so much.  So now they say, \u201cOh, if he doesn\u2019t get the wall\u2026\u201d \u2014 they make that the only issue.  But it\u2019s not going to work, because I\u2019m building the wall.  The wall is happening right now, okay?<\/p>\n<p>Q    The government has been reopened for several days now.  Are you closer or farther apart on an immigration deal, now that \u2014 since you opened the government?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  With respect to the committee?<\/p>\n<p>Q    Yes.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  I would say we\u2019re the same.  Because I\u2019m hearing they don\u2019t want to do a wall, for political reasons.  I actually think it\u2019s bad politics.  I mean, frankly, I think them fighting us on what everybody knows has to be done to have proper security.<\/p>\n<p>And you can add the other things, but the other things only really work if you have the physical barrier.  Without the physical barrier, you just won\u2019t \u2014 what are you going to have?  Drones flying over the 12,000 people?  You\u2019re going to have a nice drone flying \u2014 doing circles around the 12,000 people that are walking in from Honduras and Guatemala and El Salvador?  No, you don\u2019t want that.<\/p>\n<p>So I want to do real things, like the deal with China.  I want it to be a real deal.  I could do a deal with China, where people would say, \u201cIsn\u2019t that wonderful?\u201d  It\u2019s not wonderful.  I have to do the real deal.  We have to open up China.  We\u2019re open to them.  They have to be open to us.<\/p>\n<p>So, it would be so easy for me to make a deal with China, but it wouldn\u2019t be a real deal.  I could get them to buy more corn than they\u2019ve ever bought, and more soybeans than they\u2019ve ever bought.  And they\u2019d be so happy if I did that.  But they\u2019re going to do that, but in even higher numbers.  But we\u2019re going to do a lot of other things.<\/p>\n<p>And just remember, we are taking in billions and billions of dollars from China.  We never took in 10 cents from China.  China is being charged tremendous amounts of money for the privilege of coming in and doing what they do to our country.  They\u2019re being charged a tremendous amount of money.  And we\u2019re going to make a deal.  I think we\u2019re going to make a deal with China, but it\u2019s going to be a very comprehensive deal.  We\u2019re going to cover everything, okay<\/p>\n<p>Q    You mentioned all the economic indicators are going up.  Why then is the \u2014 are U.S. deficits and the financial debt increasing at a time when the economy is \u2014<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Well, the trade deals won\u2019t kick in for a while.  You know, number one, the USMCA hasn\u2019t even been approved yet.  It has to go before Congress and get approved.  Now, it should get approved quickly.  NAFTA was one of the worst deals ever made.  During the campaign, I said I will either terminate NAFTA or negotiate a new deal.  And we negotiated a good deal.<\/p>\n<p>Now, if you went back to pre-NAFTA, that would be, frankly, okay with me.  Pre-NAFTA or the new deal.  But I won\u2019t allow NAFTA.  NAFTA was a horrible deal for this country.  If you look at the scars all over our country, where you go to New England, you go to Ohio, you go to Pennsylvania, you see what \u2014 I mean, what happened in North Carolina \u2014 you have factories that are still empty from what happened with NAFTA.  NAFTA was a horrible deal.  The USMCA is a great deal.<\/p>\n<p>But pre-NAFTA was \u2014 we had huge surpluses with Mexico.  With NAFTA, we have huge deficits.  We lose $100 billion a year on trade with Mexico.  Does that sound good?  And this has been going on for many years.  So I stopped it.  I stopped it a lot.<\/p>\n<p>Q    One more on the wall.  You said the wall is being basically held hostage for political reasons by the Democrats.  Is there anything you would have done differently in the first two years to get this \u2014<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  No, there\u2019s nothing \u2014 look, they had this from day one.<\/p>\n<p>Q    \u2014 (inaudible) wall finished \u2014<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Could I have done it differently?  No, not really.  I mean, I think what \u2014 by having the shutdown, we\u2019ve set the table for where we are now.  If I didn\u2019t do the shutdown, people wouldn\u2019t know \u2014 they wouldn\u2019t understand the subject.  Now they understand the subject.  They realize what a humanitarian crisis it is.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s sort of \u2014 it\u2019s called, like in deal-making, \u201csetting the table,\u201d or, you know, setting the stage.  We\u2019ve set the stage for what\u2019s going to happen on the 15th of February.  I don\u2019t think they\u2019re going to make a deal.  I see what\u2019s happening.  They\u2019re all saying, \u201cOh, let\u2019s do this, but we\u2019re not giving one dime for the wall.\u201d  That\u2019s okay.  But if they\u2019re not going to give money for the wall, it\u2019s not going to work.  And if it\u2019s not going to work, then the politicians are really wasting a lot of time.<\/p>\n<p>Okay.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Mr. President, will you declare a national emergency if there\u2019s no money for the wall?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  I would do that.  I would do that.<\/p>\n<p>Q    So why hasn\u2019t \u2014<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  We have money.  Just so you understand: We have money.  We\u2019re building the wall right now \u2014 a lot of it.  People don\u2019t know that, and nobody reports it, but that\u2019s okay.  Because it\u2019s not very exciting when you say it\u2019s built.  You know, people.<\/p>\n<p>But let me just tell you: We\u2019re building the wall right now.  It\u2019s going up fairly rapidly.  We\u2019re renovating tremendous amounts of wall, which is good stuff that\u2019s in very bad shape with massive holes in it and fencing coming down.  It\u2019s being beautifully renovated.  In some cases, we have to replace it.  We renovate some.  We replace some.  We build some new.  But the wall is going up right now in all different forms.<\/p>\n<p>Thank you very much, everybody.<\/p>\n<p>Q    What\u2019s been holding you back from declaring a national emergency?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  We\u2019re going to see what happens on February 15th.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Are you concerned about legal challenges?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Against who?<\/p>\n<p>Q    Are you concerned about legal challenges?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  No, I\u2019m not concerned.  I\u2019m not concerned.<\/p>\n<p>Q    But you still don\u2019t think there\u2019s going to be a deal, but you\u2019re not going to declare it now.  Don\u2019t you think that \u2014<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  I\u2019m waiting \u2014 excuse me.  I didn\u2019t say that.  I said I\u2019m waiting until February 15th.  On February 15th, the committee will come back, and if they don\u2019t have a wall, I don\u2019t even want to waste my time reading what they have because it\u2019s a waste of time.  Because the only thing that works for security and safety for our country is a wall.<\/p>\n<p>Now, when you couple the wall with sensors and drones and all of these other things, that works, as a combination.  But if you don\u2019t have a wall, they\u2019re all just wasting their time.  It\u2019s just politics.<\/p>\n<p>Thank you all very much.<\/p>\n<p>END<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Washington, DC&#8230;Well, thank you very much. I\u2019m honored to be here with many of the great American workers as we take historic action to accelerate the incredible revival of American manufacturing. It truly is a revival. Nobody thought it was possible, actually. And not only is it possible, but we\u2019re thriving. We\u2019re also grateful to [&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-73819","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\/73819","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=73819"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73819\/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=73819"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=73819"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=73819"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}