AFP - Donald Trump
embarked Tuesday on the second leg of an unorthodox "victory tour,"
promising tough policies to put the US economy first and boasting of securing a
$50 billion Japanese investment to create 50,000 jobs.
The US
president-elect provided no details on the jobs or investment, which he spent
all day trumpeting after talks with Japanese telecoms billionaire Masayoshi Son
at Trump Tower in New York.
"Great guy of
Japan. He's pledged that he's going to put $50 billion into the United States
because of our victory," Trump told a crowd of several thousand in
Fayetteville, North Carolina of Son.
"Fifty thousand
jobs he's going to be investing in."
The Japanese magnate
told reporters at Trump Tower that his telecoms company would be investing in
startup companies in America.
"I just came to
celebrate his new job," said Son.
The tycoon
brandished a piece of paper that indicated SoftBank and Foxconn, the Taiwanese
technology giant, "commit to invest $50bn + $7bn in US, generate 50k + 50k
new jobs in US in next four years."
Trump got into hot
water last week by taking a protocol-busting telephone call from the president
of Taiwan and is under increasing fire in the media for conflicts of interest
between his vast business empire and taking top office.
He accuses China of
stealing American jobs by sucking away manufacturing plants and pledges to
lower corporate tax rates to 15 percent and threatens "consequences"
on American firms that fire workers and leave the country.
- 'Almost as a war'
-
In an interview with
The Wall Street Journal, Son said the money will be coming from a $100 billion
investment fund that he is setting up with Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund
and other potential partners.
The incoming
Republican president, whose shock victory stunned the world, also used his
Fayetteville rally to boast of his intervention last week to save hundreds of
manufacturing jobs from leaving Indiana for Mexico.
"We're going to
defend American jobs," he said, repeating a key campaign promise. "We
have to look at it almost as a war.
"We are going
to be good for the world not just good for our country. The script to what
we're doing is not yet written," he said.
Trump bolstered his
populist credentials earlier Tuesday by threatening to cancel a ballooning
contract for two new Air Force One jets: one of the most glittering assets of
the US presidency that now need updating.
He claimed that the
contract had escalated to more than $4 billion, and his team said he was
committed to saving taxpayers' money.
Converting twin
747-8 jumbo jets into state-of-the-art command centers by 2024 was estimated to
cost $3 billion when Boeing won the contract in January 2015.
Boeing said simply
that it looked forward to delivering "the best planes for the president at
the best value for the American taxpayer."
In Fayetteville,
Trump used his second "thank you" rally, following one last week in
Ohio, to promise a bolstered US military and an America "strong like we've
never been before."
- 'Intervention and
chaos' -
The United States,
he said, would strengthen its friendships and "seek out new
friendships."
"Rather than a
rigid dogma, we're guided by the lessons of history and desire to promote
stability," he said.
This destructive
cycle of intervention and chaos must finally, folks, come to an end."
He introduced
retired general James Mattis as his defense secretary, marking the first time
that he has appeared side by side with a cabinet pick in public.
The choice of
Fayetteville, just a short drive from Fort Bragg, America's largest military
base, was symbolic.
Trump who called the
commander nicknamed "Mad Dog" one of the most effective generals in
decades, announced the pick in Cincinnati on Thursday, driving the crowd wild
in another drastic break with tradition.
"I look forward
to being the civilian leader so long as the Congress gives me the waiver and
the Senate votes its consent," said Mattis, sharing the stage with Trump
and speaking briefly.
He needs a special
waiver to serve as US law bans uniformed military officers from serving as
secretary of defense for seven years after leaving active duty.
Some Democrats have
raised concerns and have also voiced objections against Trump nominating any
other military personnel to his cabinet.
In an unusual break
with his campaign rallies, Trump also urged supporters not to boo the media.
"No, no,"
he said. "Hopefully they're going to write the truth."
AFP
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