Eyes on the Ball

Despite all the noise in Washington, President Trump seems to be keeping his eye on the main ball: jobs. In a meeting with airline executives Thursday, he signaled that some “phenomenal” pro-growth tax-cut plan should be announced “over the next two or three weeks.” He promised “rolling back burdensome regulations” in the same sitdown.

The Dow proceeded to jump 118 points on the day.

Meanwhile, tangible benefits of the new sheriff in Washington continue to roll in. In the Oval Office on Wednesday, Intel announced a $7 billion investment in a Chandler, Ariz., plant that will add 3,000 jobs (beyond the construction work).

Intel had started the factory in President Barack Obama’s first term (a fact Obama milked in a visit during the 2012 campaign), then mothballed it in 2014 as business prospects dimmed.

CEO Brian Krzanich said Intel revived the plant because of “the tax and regulatory policies we see the [Trump] administration pushing forward.” The new jobs will add about 6 percent to Intel’s US workforce.

This, of course, follows a host of other one-off announcements of new or saved jobs going back to the Carrier deal just after Election Day.

No, company-by-company deals alone won’t Make America Great Again. Big-picture changes — above all, tax reform and that regulatory rollback — have to come.

But don’t knock the psychological effect. As Kevin Plank, the Under Armour CEO, said Tuesday on CNBC, “He’s highly passionate. To have such a pro-business president is something that’s a real asset to this country.”

Plank also praised the president’s attitude: “I’m a big fan of people that operate in the world of ‘publish and iterate’ versus, you know, ‘think, think, think, think.’ ”

Sounds like the right way to get jobs, jobs, jobs.