Facing a possible government shutdown back in Washington, President Trump told blue-collar workers at a factory in Pennsylvania Thursday that he is winning the battle over federal “power brokers” who don’t represent working Americans.
“America doesn’t belong to the Washington power-brokers, it belongs to you,” Mr. Trump told employees at H&K Equipment near Pittsburgh. “I think we’ve taught them that. It doesn’t mean it’s easy.”
Without mentioning his shutdown duel with congressional Democrats, Mr. Trump added, “It’s nasty in Washington. But step by step by step, just keep going, right? It is a nasty place. But we’re getting it. Nobody thought we were going to have this kind of success so quickly.”
The president traveled to Pennsylvania to highlight the impact of his tax cuts signed into law last month. He noted the unintended results of companies such as Apple Inc., which announced $2,500 stock bonuses for employees this week in addition to massive expansion and hiring plans.
Mr. Trump said he called Apple CEO Tim Cook to thank him Wednesday.
“I don’t imagine there’s ever been an investment that big in this country. They’re really going to town,” the president said. “The good news keeps pouring in.”
He asked workers how their 401k retirement accounts were performing, and to applause, he joked, “You’re brilliant investors.”
“If we can keep it like this, we’re going to win a lot of elections,” Mr. Trump said. “’It’s the economy, stupid’ — did you ever hear that one? It is indeed.”
The president also gave a plug for Republican Rick Saccone, who is running in a special election in March in a House district near Pittsburgh, calling him a “great guy.”
Mr. Trump pointed to companies’ plans for hiring in various sectors, and joked that the tax cuts were benefitting some of the people that Hillary Clinton referred to as “deplorables” during the 2016 campaign.
“We’re putting America back to work and we’re ensuring the forgotten men and women of our country are never, ever forgotten again,” Mr. Trump said. “Remember the ’deplorables’? We’re all deplorables! Who would have thought that would turn into landslide? That was not a good phrase that she used.”
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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