Pants on fire
PRESS SECRETARY Sean Spicer defended the Trump family’s penchant for making products overseas by blaming supply chains in the U.S.
Spicer was peppered with questions about the First Family’s business dealings Monday after the administration named this week “Made in America Week.”
He was asked whether the Trump Organization and Ivanka Trump, who both make clothing products such as ties for low costs in Asia, would join in the festivities by committing to move production to the U.S.
Spicer said he could not comment on their choices.
However, he defended his boss against allegations of hypocrisy by saying, “There are certain supply chains or scalability that are not available in this country.”
Spicer did not give specifics about whether there was anything preventing Trump items such as shirts and ties from being made in the U.S.
Trump has praised his own personal interventions in the U.S. economy for saving jobs, though his spokesman said that the Trump Organization’s global cost-cutting was part of a “capitalistic society.”
Despite being repeatedly slammed for not living up to his words, Trump has made the idea of American manufacturing a common refrain in his presidency.
He toured an exhibition of “Made in America” products from businesses representing the 50 states at the White House event on Monday.
New York was represented by Steinway & Sons pianos.
Trump took a swing with a baseball bat in the Blue Room, and briefly donned a customized Stetson cowboy hat in front of cheering manufacturing company executives.
“I want to make a pledge to each and every one of you: No longer are we going to allow other countries to break the rules, steal our jobs and drain our wealth,” Trump said.
The President did not give details about what his administration would do to protect manufacturers, but he railed against tariffs charged by other countries and unfair trade practices.
“That includes cracking down on the predatory online sales of foreign goods, which is absolutely killing our shoppers and our shopping centers,” he said.
“If you look at what is going on with shopping centers and stores and jobs and stores, it’s been very, very tough for them. They’ve had a very hard time, closing at numbers and records that have never been seen before,” he said.
It was unclear what Trump meant by stopping “predatory online sales.” The White House did not respond to a request for more information.
Trump, who’d gleefully gotten behind the wheel of a truck at an earlier White House demonstration, hopped into the driver’s seat of a firetruck that had been brought onto the White House lawn. It was made in Wisconsin. “Where’s the fire?” he said. “I’ll put it out.”