Trump touts 'blue-collar boom' in speech to global elite
'The American dream is back'
President Trump touted the U.S. economic boom in a speech to global leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Tuesday.
His 30-minute remarks, which came hours before the U.S. Senate was set to begin its impeachment trial, touched on key components of his economic initiatives, including job creation and trade improvements.
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“America’s thriving, America’s flourishing, and yes, America is winning again like never before,” Trump said.
The president reeled off a number of accomplishments for the labor force under his leadership, pointing to the more than 7 million jobs created, helping push the unemployment rate to 3.5 percent, its lowest in 50 years.
He said earnings growth of the bottom 10 percent of Americans is outpacing that of the top 10 percent, adding that real median household income is at an all-time high. It amounts to a "blue-collar boom," Trump said.
He also cited record-low unemployment numbers for African Americans, Hispanic Americans and Asian Americans, and said 10 million Americans have gone off welfare.
The president expects the U.S. economy to grow even stronger after two historic trade deals, encompassing more than $2 trillion of international commerce, were approved last week.
Trump signed a partial trade deal with China, de-escalating a nearly two-year trade battle between Washington and Beijing.
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As part of the pact, China will buy an additional $200 billion of U.S. goods over the next two years, in addition to implementing new protections for intellectual property, stopping forced technology transfers, opening up its financial sector and refraining from manipulation of its currency.
In return, the U.S. scaled back some of the tariffs it has imposed on hundreds of billions of dollars in Chinese imports, but did not remove them completely.
The U.S. relationship with China has "never been better," Trump said, adding that China's buys could be closer to $300 billion by the time it's all said and done.
President Trump arrives in Davos, Switzerland, on Marine One for a two-day visit to the World Economic Forum. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Days after signing the deal with China, the Senate ratified the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which Trump said "ended the NAFTA disaster, one of the worst trade deals ever made."
The Clinton-era trade agreement led to the loss of one in four U.S. manufacturing jobs over 25 years while promoting outsourcing, driving down wages and shuttering plants, Trump said.
"This was the wreckage I was elected to clean up," he said, adding that 12,000 factories have opened under his watch.
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“The American dream is back, bigger, better, stronger than ever before,” Trump said.