State Dining Room
3:49 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Okay, who’s going to make the first presentation? I want to buy something. (Laughter.) But only if it’s made in America, right? (Applause.) I want to thank you all.
And Michael was a supporter of ours right from the beginning, which I really appreciate. It’s good to see you here. It’s fantastic. And I actually bought a couple of pillows, and they’re very good. I have to tell you, they’re great. I’ve slept so much better ever since. (Laughter.) So, thank you very much, Michael.
Good afternoon and welcome to the White House. We’re here today to continue our celebration of American manufacturing as part of Made in America Week. The leaders and innovators around this table create the products that fill our homes, defend our nation, and enrich our lives. And each one of these products proudly carries the label, Made in the USA. Do you remember in the old days? We used to say “Made in the USA.” That was when we really had great pride in our product. And you do — but unfortunately we’ve lost a little something, but we’re gaining it back very quickly.
You see the stock market hit a new high? Jobs are the lowest they’ve been. Best jobs before we’ve had in, I think, 16 years. Unemployment numbers — fantastic, how we’re doing. But we’re also going to take care of the 95 million people out there that aren’t working. And we have to remember that’s not really part of the statistic. I’ve been talking about that for a long time.
And when we got those great reports, I kept saying, you know, those numbers — whether it’s 4.2, 4.3 — I said, for a long time they don’t matter. But now I accept those numbers very proudly. I say they do matter. But we’re doing very well with the jobs and the jobs reports, and we’re doing very well with companies. We’re really moving along.
From day one, my administration has been fighting to bring back our manufacturing jobs and to crack down on foreign countries that cheat. Got a lot of them. We will end the theft of American prosperity, and we will stand up for our companies, our factories, and our workers. Is that okay with you, Michael? Good? (Applause.)
Made in America is more than a label or a product, and it’s just something so important to us. It’s a stamp of excellence. It’s a badge of honor and a tribute to the tremendous skill of the working men and women who design and build these incredible masterpieces and different products of all types.
When American workers have a level playing field, they cannot be beaten. They have not had a level playing field in a long time. But you see what’s happening. It’s step by step. We’ve gotten rid of regulations and a lot more are coming. We have some statutory requirements where we’re not allowed to do it until certain dates. But they’re coming as fast as those dates come. We’ve opened it up, and it’s made a big difference for the farmer, for the homebuilder, for so many — and for the manufacturers.
That’s why we want to ensure the integrity of the Made in America label. My administration is committed to working with the private sector to ensure the protection of Made in America and the label through efforts like certification, greater transparency, and stricter enforcement efforts by agencies like the Federal Trade Commission.
We will have zero tolerance for illegal counterfeiting, piracy, theft, or intellectual property. And they, really — they take our intellectual property like we’re a bunch of babies. But no longer. And false claims that a product is made in America. And as time goes by, the value of Made in America is going to be greater and greater, so you’re going to see more and more of this. There was a time when people didn’t want to use that name and they wouldn’t take that name. Now they’re taking it, and that’s because it’s become — we’ve become very proud of it again.
Around the world, the Made in America label is the gold standard for craftsmanship quality and artistry. And that is one more reason why we have to protect it. I mean, we have to protect it. Not for you, not for me, but for your children and for your grandchildren — because that’s what’s happening. So we must protect it from illegal theft and from abuse.
The Made in America movement is growing rapidly under my administration, and we’re more determined than ever to protect our jobs, our industry, and our workers. Every day we are putting America first. And, as you know, during our campaign, I had a slogan — a few of you may have heard it — it’s called “Make America Great Again.” Did you ever hear that slogan? I think so. (Applause.)
And I want to thank our great Michael. Thank you for being here, by the way. And Secretary Acosta is here. And you have done a fantastic job in a very short period of time. And I know you are going to say a few words, so why don’t you go ahead?
Thank you, Mr. Secretary.
SECRETARY ACOSTA: Mr. President, thank you. And thank you for your leadership. While we were waiting for you to walk in, we had short conversations. And I just wanted to tell you a few things that I heard from your guests here today. American workers are the best in the world. American workers are passionate. Made in America matters, because when products are made in America, Americans care about what they’re doing, they care about their products because they know the product impacts American lives.
And so those are examples of what your guests here told me, and I think examples of why Made in America is so important to this nation, to the economy, and to this nation’s workers.
And so thank you for your leadership on this issue.
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. So what label do you like better — Made in America or Made in the USA? Tell me. Think about it.
PARTICIPANT: USA.
THE PRESIDENT: Think about it. What do you like better? Made in America or Made in the USA?
PARTICIPANT: Made in USA.
THE PRESIDENT: What do you like? Secretary, how do you feel?
SECRETARY ACOSTA: I think Made in America is what we’ve been talking about. It’s known throughout the world. And Made in America works.
THE PRESIDENT: It used to be Made in the USA, I think the label that was on a car. Do you know, they were telling me that in Czechoslovakia and other communist countries many years ago, they were so proud of a car if it was made in the United States. They used to take a single dollar and they’d Scotch-tape it up their windshield just to show an American dollar. And that was a long time ago, but that’s what they used to do. And maybe somebody is going to be doing that in the future.
How do you feel, Michael? Made in the USA or Made in America?
MR. LINDELL: I feel Made in the USA. But you know, I’ve done both. My ads have all been done in the USA. It’s the way I feel.
THE PRESIDENT: How many pillows did you make last year in the USA?
MR. LINDELL: 10 million.
THE PRESIDENT: It’s nuts. I mean, can you imagine?
MR. LINDELL: 30 million so far.
THE PRESIDENT: 30 million since. That’s fantastic. I know, it’s amazing. I heard it’s amazing.
Peter, what do you like?
PARTICIPANT: I love Made in America because it fits in with our Buy American and Hire American — the two simple rules of the Trump administration.
THE PRESIDENT: Okay. What does the media like? Do you like Made in America or Made in the USA? Steve, what do you like — Made in America or Made in the USA? Huh?
PARTICIPANT: Either way.
THE PRESIDENT: Either way. They’re so quiet all of a sudden. (Laughter.) Well, you make your decision. I think, specifically, Made in the USA was what they had — Made in the USA. But either is great. Or both. I mean, you could really go both. Although, I think we probably like to settle.
What do you like, Mike?
PARTICIPANT: I think Made in America. That’s just what I’ve always thought. And to make America great again, you got to make it in America. And I like that.
THE PRESIDENT: Okay, good. Very good. Are you going to show me some things? Let’s go.
END
3:58 P.M. EDT
