President Trump visited Wisconsin on Tuesday, including a stop at a Snap-on tool factory in Kenosha. At the factory, he criticized a Canadian dairy tariff and signed a "Buy American, Hire American" executive order that directs U.S. agencies to review the use of H-1B visas — granted to high-skill foreigners, especially in the tech industry — and find ways to increase the use of U.S.-made products in certain federally funded construction projects. Accompanying Trump were Gov. Scott Walker (R), Sen. Ron Johnson (R), and White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, who attended high school in Kenosha. Trump began with a nod to a Wisconsinite not in the room, House Speaker Paul Ryan (R), whose district includes Kenosha.
"My thanks go to Speaker Ryan, who's represented this city for nearly two decades in Congress, and do you know where he is?" Trump asked. "He's with NATO. So he has a good excuse. So I said, Ron, make sure these countries start paying their bills a little bit more, you know, they're way, way behind, Ron." Trump appeared to catch his mistake and pointed to Johnson saying, "I'm going to talk to you about that, Ron," then added: "But Paul, you're over with NATO, get them to pay their bills."
White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said Trump chose the Snap-on factory because it's "a company that builds American-made tools with American workers." Along with hand and power tools, Snap-on makes shop equipment and software, and it has 11 plants in the U.S. plus factories in China, Brazil, Argentina, Belarus, and several European nations. Snap-on also makes burial urns, and when shown them on Tuesday, Trump called them "very depressing." He narrowly won Wisconsin in November, and his approval rating in the state is currently about 41 percent.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
The six-seven meme that has taken over the worldIn the Spotlight With roots in rap and basketball, the phrase has young people obsessed, and it could be here to stay
-
Five takeaways from Plaid Cymru’s historic Caerphilly by-election winThe Explainer The ‘big beasts’ were ‘humbled’ but there was disappointment for second-placed Reform too
-
A journey through Trinidad’s wild heartThe Week Recommends Experience the island’s natural wonders, from watching baby turtles hatch to visiting an ancient bat cave
-
Warner Bros. explores sale amid Paramount bidsSpeed Read The media giant, home to HBO and DC Studios, has received interest from multiple buying parties
-
Gold tops $4K per ounce, signaling financial uneaseSpeed Read Investors are worried about President Donald Trump’s trade war
-
Electronic Arts to go private in record $55B dealspeed read The video game giant is behind ‘The Sims’ and ‘Madden NFL’
-
New York court tosses Trump's $500M fraud fineSpeed Read A divided appeals court threw out a hefty penalty against President Trump for fraudulently inflating his wealth
-
Trump said to seek government stake in IntelSpeed Read The president and Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan reportedly discussed the proposal at a recent meeting
-
US to take 15% cut of AI chip sales to ChinaSpeed Read Nvidia and AMD will pay the Trump administration 15% of their revenue from selling artificial intelligence chips to China
-
NFL gets ESPN stake in deal with DisneySpeed Read The deal gives the NFL a 10% stake in Disney's ESPN sports empire and gives ESPN ownership of NFL Network
-
Samsung to make Tesla chips in $16.5B dealSpeed Read Tesla has signed a deal to get its next-generation chips from Samsung
