Speaking in front of a large American flag made from painted wrenches, President Donald Trump pledged his administration would “defend our workers, protect our jobs and finally put America first.”
Trump was at the Kenosha headquarters of toolmaker Snap-on Inc. to sign an executive order strengthening buy American policies for federal contracts and hire American policies for immigration visas.
He also highlighted the partnership between Snap-on and Gateway Technical College, declaring “vocational education is the way of the future.”
“The founders of this company wanted their customers to know the tools of the mechanic were just as important as the tools of the doctor, the dentist, the politician or the business leader and that his craft was a noble, noble craft,” Trump said.
The president also said he would stand up for dairy farmers in Wisconsin who could lose access to Canadian markets in the near future. He said it was “another typical, one-sided” trade situation and he would work with Wisconsin representatives to reach out to Canadian officials for answers.
“We’re going to get the solution, not just the answer,” Trump said.
He also lamented the complicated process for opening up talks on the North American Free Trade Agreement.
“The whole thing is ridiculous,” Trump said. “We are going to make some very big changes or we are going to get rid of NAFTA once and for all.”
Trump claimed no administration had accomplished more in its first 90 days than his and said items like tax reform and an infrastructure package would be coming in the near future. He said tax reform required new health care legislation to make it work and that infrastructure likely would be paired with something that’s harder to pass, although he didn’t specify what that would be.
