Trump Uses Childhood Memory as Driving Force for America's Future
It was one of President Donald Trump’s formative memories: seeing “Made in America” on everything. On Monday, the president said he sees a future like that for the country.
Speaking at the second annual Made in America event, Trump gave remarks and perused products made in America such as Texan cowboy boots, Indiana-built RVs and snowboards from Colorado, according to The Washington Post.
Trump said one of the motivating factors behind the event — instituted under his administration — were what he remembered about American manufacturing from his childhood.
“I remember when I was growing up I’d see ‘Made in America‘ all over the place,” Trump said. “A little bit ‘Made in the U.S.A., but ‘Made in America,’ everything had ‘Made in America.’
“And we’re starting that again, and it’s happening again, as you know.”
.@POTUS: "I remember when I was growing up I'd see 'Made in America' all over the place…and we're starting that again." pic.twitter.com/mpXOKsJsfn
— Fox News (@FoxNews) July 24, 2018
Trump promised on the campaign trail to return manufacturing and blue-collar jobs to the United States. It remains to be seen how that will work, but given that strong blue-collar job growth has been part of what’s been driving the economic recovery, he can at least claim some victories in that sphere.
Last week, the administration also had more than 20 companies at the White House sign the Pledge to American Workers, in which they “committed to creating new opportunities over the next five years for American students and workers, including through apprenticeships and work-based learning, continuing education, on-the-job training, and reskilling.”
“By signing the Pledge to America’s Workers, these great companies . . . are affirming their commitment to train American workers for American jobs,” the president said. “Because America’s strength, America’s heart, and America’s soul is found in our people.”
The mood was significantly different than last year’s Made in America event, which was more about promises than delivery.
“Every member of my administration shares the same goal: to provide a level playing field for American workers and for American industry,” Trump told attendees last year.
“And we are providing it much faster than other countries would like. So it’s been really a pleasure.
“We want to build, create, and grow more products in our country using American labor, American goods, and American grit,” he added. “When we purchase products made in the U.S.A., the profits stay here, the revenue stays here, and the jobs — maybe most importantly of all — they stay right here in the U.S.A.”
This year, Trump talked about a “great economic revival in the United States” thanks to tax cuts and deregulation. Tariffs and trade wars weren’t exactly foregrounded by Trump at the event, and those certainly could be clouds in the sky in the months and years to come.
On Monday, however, everything was pretty sunny — and the president made sure America (and the media) knew it.
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