President-elect Donald Trump touted a $100 billion investment from Japanese-based SoftBank Group alongside CEO Masayoshi Son at Mar-a-Lago on Monday.
Trump made the announcement next to his Treasury Secretary pick Howard Lutnick in front of the press at Mar-a-Lago in his first media event as president-elect.
The tech CEO announced the creation of 100,000 U.S. jobs in artificial intelligence and related infrastructure that will boost the economy heading into Trump’s second term.
‘Today I’m thrilled to announce that SoftBank will be investing $100 billion in America, creating 100,000 American jobs at a minimum,’ said the president-elect.
‘And he’s doing this because he feels very optimistic about our country since the election, and many of these people [are] also coming in with tremendous amounts of money.’
Trump then pressured Son during the Mar-a-Lago media frenzy, asking him to commit to doubling his commitment to $200 billion, which he signaled he was open to doing.
‘I’m going to ask him right now, would you make it $200 billion?’ asked Trump.
Son replied with laughter, saying Trump is clearly an excellent negotiator.
‘With your leadership, my partnership with you, with your support, I will try to make it up to $200 billion,’ he pledged.
The investment is expected to happen before the end of Trump’s four-year term.
The announcement comes on the heels of Trump promising to cut regulatory red tape for companies and individuals who pledge to invest at least $1 billion in the American economy.
‘Any person or company investing ONE BILLION DOLLARS, OR MORE, in the United States of America, will receive fully expedited approvals and permits, including, but in no way limited to, all Environmental approvals,’ Trump posted to Truth Social on Tuesday.
‘GET READY TO ROCK!!!’ he added.
Trump largely won reelection last month due to his hardline positions on illegal immigration and pledges to bolster the economy, with post-COVID inflation still problematic for the American consumer.
The tech CEO (right) announced the creation of 100,000 U.S. jobs in artificial intelligence and related infrastructure
Trump pressured Son during the Mar-a-Lago media frenzy, asking him to commit to doubling his commitment to $200 billion, which he signaled he was open to doing
He’s since suggested that it may be difficult to bring down grocery prices.
During his ‘Person of the Year’ interview last week with Time magazine he said it would be ‘very hard’ to bring down food prices but answered in the negative when asked if his second term would be a ‘failure’ if he didn’t accomplish that task.
‘I don’t think so. Look, they got them up,’ he said, pointing to the Biden-Harris administration.
‘I’d like to bring them down. It’s hard to bring things down once they’re up. You know, it’s very hard,’ the president-elect added.
The Biden White House tried to decrease household costs in other ways – tackling the prices of prescription drugs, for example, or junk fees – but many voters expressed dissatisfaction with the cost of food and fuel when casting a ballot for Trump.
Making investment pledges will be another way Trump can show he’s responding to Americans’ economic anguish.
He’s also pledged to roll back Biden-era environmental regulations, often using the mantra ‘drill, baby, drill.’
President-elect Donald Trump scored a $100 billion investment from the Japanese-based SoftBank Group and will tout the deal alongside CEO Masayoshi Son at Mar-a-Lago on Monday
During his ‘Person of the Year’ interview last week with Time magazine he said it would be ‘very hard’ to bring down food prices
Trump is joined by Vice President-elect J.D. Vance at the Army-Navy football game in Landover, Maryland
Making investment pledges will be another way Trump can show he’s responding to Americans’ economic anguish
On Tuesday, Biden’s economic advisor Jared Bernstein suggested that there was some bipartisan work to be done cutting regulations but also cautioned doing it in a hasty manner.
He was asked at the White House press briefing to respond to Trump’s pitch to cut regulations to companies investing more than $1 billion.
‘We’ve had tremendous foreign direct investment, and yes, we’ve definitely tried to make – clean the brush out – to help diminish the burden for permitting and things like that and there’s more to do in that space,’ Bernstein said, after saying he would hesitate to respond to a Trump tweet.
‘And I think there are members of Congress – that is I believe a bipartisan issue that we could be working on. So if the Trump team is serious about trying to clear some of that brush, sure but one thing I hear too often from him and them is without regard for any impact of some of the guardrails that are there for a reason,’ Bernstein said.
