CINCINNATI: President-elect Donald Trump kicked off his post-election “thank you tour” on Thursday by railing against globalisation, promising the return of manufacturing jobs to American workers, and vowing to shut US borders to some Middle East migrants.
Speaking in an arena that was about three-quarters full, Trump rallied the crowd by repeatedly attacking the “extremely dishonest” media and invoking the populist message that resonated with millions of voters.
“There is no global anthem, no global currency, no certificate of global citizenship. We pledge allegiance to one flag and that flag is the American flag,” Trump said.
“From now on it’s going to be America first, okay?” Trump said as he stressed job-creation spurred by trade deals he intends to renegotiate, including the North American Free Trade Agreement.
The New York real estate magnate also announced that he would nominate Marine General James Mattis to be his secretary of defence.
Noting an attack on the Ohio State University campus in Columbus earlier this week by a Somali immigrant, Trump said such threats against Americans were “created by our very, very stupid politicians; refugee programmes.”
In order to keep the United States safe from further attacks, Trump said he will suspend immigration “from regions where it cannot be safely processed,” including some countries in the Middle East.
“People are pouring in from regions of the Middle East. We have no idea who they are, where they come from, what they’re thinking and we’re going to stop that dead, cold flat,” Trump said.
Trump’s remarks came at the end of a day in which he also travelled to neighbouring Indiana to celebrate a decision by the Carrier Corp, an air conditioner maker, to keep about 1,000 jobs in the United States rather than move them to Mexico.
In the run-up to his Jan 20 swearing in as president, Trump is expected to tour cities in swing states, like Ohio, that contributed to his shock election victory on November 8.
During a nearly hour-long speech in this southwestern Ohio city, Trump promised to deliver new tax cuts to the middle-class, roll back federal regulations that he said hurt companies and build a wall along the southwestern border with Mexico.
In mocking detractors who did not think he could burst through the “blue wall” of states that have typically voted for Democrats, Trump proclaimed to roaring cheers, “We didn’t break it, we shattered that sucker.”
Over the past few weeks, Trump has mainly been holed up in the Trump Tower in New York City, weighing who to name to top jobs in his incoming administration.
He has interviewed several candidates for secretary of state, including the 2012 Republican presidential nominee, Mitt Romney, who attacked Trump throughout the 2016 campaigns but lately has spoken glowingly of the president-elect. — Reuters
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