Donald Trump talks trade, jobs in Monessen
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump gives a speech on trade at Alumnisource in Monessen Tuesday.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump gives a speech on trade at Alumnisource in Monessen Tuesday.
Donald Trump speaks on trade at Alumnisource in Monessen Tuesday.
The stage where candidate Donald Trump gave a speech on trade is shown at Alumnisource in Monessen Tuesday.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump gives a speech on trade at Alumnisource in Monessen Tuesday.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump gives a speech on trade at Alumnisource in Monessen Tuesday.
MONESSEN – The speech presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump gave Tuesday signaled what could be the start of the “new” candidate many political pundits have been waiting to see.
The policy speech, given at one of the few large employers left in a former steel town with blighted buildings and financial problems, was the first time Trump zeroed in on trade and the economy, specifically criticizing the existing North American Free Trade Agreement and the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership.
“Skilled workers have seen the jobs they’ve loved shipped overseas … globalization has totally destroyed the middle class,” Trump said to a crowd of about 200 at Alumisource, an aluminum scrapper and supplier. The event was closed to the public.
“We tax and regulate and restrict our companies to death. We have become dependent on foreign companies more than ever before,” Trump said, “and trade reform is the quickest way to bring jobs back to this country. The TPP would be the death blow to American jobs.”
Monessen resident Ron Chromulak was in agreement.
“I spent 21 years in the Air Force. I retired 10 years ago, but came back to the Mon Valley before that to work with the state in veterans’ services. Donald Trump seems to be the only person to have the initiative to bring the country back to where it used to be,” Chromulak said, “because the government has put so many regulations at every level and it seems the only purpose is a source of revenue (through fees and taxes) for the federal government.”
In addition to criticizing the trade positions of China, Trump laid into Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and her political allies.
“Hillary Clinton has called the TPP the gold standard … half of manufacturing jobs leaving America is not a natural disaster. This is a political disaster, and it’s the consequence of leaders in Washington worshipping globalization,” Trump said.
Trump said as president he would direct the Secretary of Commerce to identify and label cheating countries “like China, who manipulate their currency,” and he would appoint “the toughest, smartest trade negotiators,” and “trust me folks, I know them all.” Trump said he would punish “cheating countries” with taxes and tariffs.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce responded on Twitter to Trump’s speech, tweeting from its official account that “even under the best case scenario, Trump’s tariffs would strip us of at least 3.5 million jobs.”
Trump didn’t respond to the relatively quiet crowd as “Put Hillary in jail!” and other occasional jeers erupted. And the crowd didn’t hear anything about building walls or the threat of immigration. The majority of Trump’s speech was read from prepared remarks on teleprompters and focused on American prosperity.
Many came from all over Pennsylvania to hear Trump speak. Lisa Vranicar drove from Harrisburg after attending rallies there and in Wilkes-Barre.
“I’m a small business owner of a skating rink. We’ve seen a downturn in business … and a disintegration of the family because everyone is working,” Vranicar said, explaining her main support for Trump is because she believes he will help the military veterans in her family.
Trump said American steel should be the base of products that “help rebuild the crumbling bridges across the nation,” and American hands should the ones to rebuild the country.
Referring to the Mon Valley and the rest of the Rust Belt, he said “these areas have never recovered (after the collapse of steel), but they will when I’m president.”
The pivot to a policy-driven speech was a good turn for the candidate, according to Washington & Jefferson College political science professor Joseph DiSarro, who was in the crowd.
“This is a huge speech. This is the start of his conversion to presidential nominee … His campaign has to show what exactly he means by better trade deals. He needs to start with energy – we’re the energy capital of this country – and from energy, he can pitch his plan to bring back manufacturing,” DiSarro said. “So he’s got to focus and be specific and get away from this sloganeering and say what exactly it is the country needs to do.”
Former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum was in attendance, and despite Santorum saying earlier he wouldn’t act as a surrogate, Trump thanked Santorum for his endorsement at the beginning of his speech.