Fact Check: Trump Takes Credit for Companies Bringing Back or Keeping Jobs in the U.S.
“Since my election, Ford, Fiat Chrysler, General Motors, Sprint, Softbank, Lockheed, Intel, Walmart and many others, have announced that they will invest billions of dollars in the United States and will create tens of thousands of new American jobs," President Trump said.
The Facts: Not so fast.
Trump routinely overstates his involvement in these announcements. In most cases, the decisions that created jobs were made — and often announced — before Trump took office. Several CEOs have praised Trump for advocating pro-business policies, but none have credited his involvement in brand new, job-making moves. Some have outright disputed it.
"I wish I could give him credit for this," Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne said recently. "But the thinking was in place beforehand."
Lockheed Martin's jobs were part of a deal to grow fighter jet production for the U.S.; Intel had announced the jobs weeks before Trump took credit for it; Softbank's investment was announced weeks before the U.S. election.
