Trump Breaks Ground, Takes Credit For Wisconsin's Foxconn Facility
CHICAGO (CBS) -- In Wisconsin, President Donald Trump helped officials break ground on a long sought job creator within reach of the north suburbs.
The town of Mount Pleasant in Wisconsin, population 26,000, is about to be transformed by the biggest foreign investment in American history.
And President Trump said it's all thanks to him.
CBS 2 political reporter Derrick Blakley reports.
With the toss of a shovel, President Trump both broke ground and took credit for a what's called a transformational project for the Wisconsin economy: the 10 billion dollar Foxconn technology plant.
"They wouldn't have done here except that I became president," said Trump.
He claimed his friendship with Foxconn CEO Terry Gou brought the project to Wisconsin.
The plant will manufactures LCD panels as well as high-tech equipment to treat brain tumors.
But opponents, mostly Democrats, claim taxpayers are sacrificing too much in subsidies with only promises in return.
"There's no guarantees on anything," said protester Dan Schierl. "The only guarantee is we gave them 4.5 billion dollars and we have nothing to show solidly for it."
Meantime, President Trump isn't backing down from tough European trade war talk, even after Wisconsin motorcycle producer Harley-Davidson announced it's moving some production to Europe to avoid big European tariffs.
"They send us Mercedes...we send them a bushel of corn and they reject it. If you don't want our agricultural products, we don't want your cars," said Trump. "Harley-Davidson, please build those beautiful motorcycles in the U.S. please."
There is some irony in the president's criticism of Harley-Davidson for moving production abroad, while at the same time gladly accepting Foxconn moving production to Wisconsin from Asia, which only proves that tariffs or no tariffs, it's a global economy.