President Trump announced Friday that the Department of War has selected Cleveland, Ohio as the new home of the U.S. Navy's Submarine Component Repair Center, headlining a rally in the Buckeye State that also featured more than $800 million in new manufacturing investment.
"Today I'm also pleased to announce that the Department of War has officially selected the new home of the U.S. Submarine Component Repair Center, a big deal that everybody wanted and it's going to be right here in Ohio in Cleveland, Ohio," Trump told the crowd.
The President described the scale of the project and what it will do for the Navy's undersea fleet. "This massive 46,000 square foot facility will manufacture, repair, and maintain key parts for virtually all new and existing submarines," he said.
Trump credited Ohio's Republican senator for securing the win. "And you have to really thank Senator John Yustet for this more than probably anybody else. John Fortford, Ohio, he fought for a stand-up to him, that was your deal, stand-up, John. John Fortford, Ohio."
Kimberly-Clark, Vallourec Expand in Ohio
The President rolled out a slate of private-sector commitments to the state, naming two companies investing in new and expanded operations.
"Kimberly Clark is investing $800 million to build its first new U.S. plant in 37 years right here in Roland, Ohio," Trump said. "The big steel company Valaric is investing $48 million to expand operations right here in a place called Youngstown. Have you heard of it?"
He also pointed to federal dollars already flowing into Ohio steel. "At two months ago my administration announced a $500 million investment to modernize the Cleveland cliffs in Middletown and the Middletown works. Did anyone ever hear of the Middletown once? The steel mill. Thank you Bernie. I was a Bernie deal. Actually, all three of you work and that comes in. Thank you."
'The Steel Industry Is Roaring Back to Life'
Trump tied the day's announcements to a broader run of economic numbers he said are hitting record levels under his administration.
"It was just announced that under Republican leadership, that's me, income for hard work in Americans has soared. Think of it, the income for a person, average income for a person is soared to the highest level ever recorded by far," he said.
"More Americans are working today that at any time in the history of our country and for higher wages than ever before," Trump continued. "The poverty rate has just reached its lowest level in the history of our country. African American poverty, Hispanic American poverty, and Native American poverty rates are at their all time, lower levels, ever recorded, ever. And the stock market just did it again today with 84 all time record highs since the election was just a little more than a year and a half ago."
On manufacturing, the President said the state's industrial base has reversed years of decline. "After years of steel mills and factories closing across Ohio, our steel industry is roaring back to life, manufacturing is booming, and American exports have soared to the highest level in history."
He also took aim at the previous administration's record on production. "Remember when Barack Hussein Obama said we're never going to manufacture again? We just set a record for exports. In other words, we make a product and it's a big record too. And you haven't seen anything with these factories. We're building more factories and plants right now than at any time in our history."
'Happy Columbus Day'
The President opened his remarks by marking the holiday and defending the name against efforts to remove it. "And I want to just wish everybody a very happy Columbus Day. I was very much involved. They took that name away from you. And we have Columbus so high, whenever they go, but they took the name away from our country. They took the way from really away from Italian Americans. And we said, well, I can let that stay."
Trump also returned to immigration enforcement, citing recent violence in Minnesota. "Last week's average Somali gang members shot two people in the high school parking lot in the middle of a football game. Just days later, a few miles away, the FBI arrested or radicalized. Somalia, who is planning to carry out an ISIS-style terrorist attack at the mole of America aiming to kill as many as possible in his words."
"This is not what we want in this country," he said. "We don't want this in this country. What they have done. What they have done for Minnesota. And members of the Somalian community have looted tens of billions of dollars from Minnesota welfare programs here."
The White House said in its own post that the administration "has made the great state of OHIO a priority, and the results are showing with outstanding economic numbers."
