Donald Trump hasn’t even officially taken over as President yet, but he already claims to be taking big steps to keep American jobs within the United States.
That’s great news for his supporters. Or at least it would be if it were true.
The President-elect claims to have heard from Ford chairman Bill Ford that the car company will be keeping its Lincoln plant in Kentucky, rather than moving it to Mexico.
*a cheer goes up*
Just got a call from my friend Bill Ford, Chairman of Ford, who advised me that he will be keeping the Lincoln plant in Kentucky – no Mexico
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 18, 2016
But wait, let’s take a closer look. That plant Trump has been speaking about to Ford in an effort to ensure it remains in America? There were never any plans to move it.
As Reuters notes, Trump has been critical of Ford moving smaller car production south of the border, something which is still going to happen.
So, and I’ll say this loudly for those of you at the back, he’s not stopped what he wanted to stop, while the thing he’s proudly announcing is – wait for it – exactly what was going to happen anyway.
UPDATE: Here is Ford's official statement. They had been considering moving production of one vehicle, the Lincoln MKC. @realDonaldTrump pic.twitter.com/2Hq2WcDX1w
— Will Oremus (@WillOremus) November 18, 2016
In fact, as the non-committal language in Trump’s tweet allows for, it’s possible that all he has done is asked Bill Ford what the current situation is and then left off the bits that might make him look bad. The ‘no Mexico’ line is basically window-dressing as that was never in the equation for the Lincoln SUV plant.
Slate‘s Will Oremus has been doing some fact-checking throughout, including claiming that even Reuters fell for the President-elect’s spin before amending their follow-up story.
And this is corroborated by NYMag‘s Jesse Singal, in this Twitter thread which raises some important questions.
https://twitter.com/jessesingal/status/799455529756139521
https://twitter.com/jessesingal/status/799455714796339200
https://twitter.com/jessesingal/status/799456037971644416
https://twitter.com/jessesingal/status/799456180884082688
https://twitter.com/jessesingal/status/799456388078518272
https://twitter.com/jessesingal/status/799456603334410240
https://twitter.com/jessesingal/status/799456759035338752
https://twitter.com/jessesingal/status/799456830711824389
https://twitter.com/jessesingal/status/799456927528919040
https://twitter.com/jessesingal/status/799457039189704704
https://twitter.com/jessesingal/status/799457073121652737
