# "Leave Donald Alone!" Pleads His Press Secretary **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 2, 2017, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leave-donald-alone-pleads-his-press-secretary/776125 "2017-01-02T04:23:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2017, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leave-donald-alone-pleads-his-press-secretary/776125/201 "2017-01-04T05:52:44Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > Companies have been creating new US jobs right along while Obama’s been in office, with a total of [over 10 million new private-sector jobs since 2010](http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/11/barack-obamas-criminally-underrated-jobs-record/506594/). That’s all very nice but quite beside the point. For one thing many of the new jobs may simply be due to increased demand caused by a growing population. There are about 24 million more people in this country now (legally, that is) and when you throw in the who-knows-how-many illegal immigrants who are here the number is even higher. But like I said, all of that’s beside the point. The point is that Trump has made it a key point in his campaign to keep companies from moving their operations to other countries and he’s apparently been working hard since the election to begin to make that happen. If Obama has been working behind the scenes in anything approaching an effective way to keep U.S. companies from moving away or to entice or penalize those who’ve already moved to get them to come back, I’m unaware of it. > [@Kimstu](#): > > It’s just that Obama didn’t issue a stop-press announcement for every few hundred or few thousand of those new jobs. As with most of Trump’s activities, it’s not that he’s actually getting anything particularly impressive done, it’s just that he’s very good at marketing it to the gullible as a YUUUUUGE ACCOMPLISHMENT. Of course. We all know that to people of your political orientation the only reason to approve anything not Democrat/liberal sanctioned is some sort of mental deficiency. I do thank you all for that though, as you’ve now gifted us with Republican control of congress, the presidency, most state legislatures and governorships, and most likely a conservative Supreme Court that will predominate for at least a couple of decades. In light of all this I’d be a little cautious about casting aspersions on the intelligence of the opposition if I were you, and I think I’d begin to take a closer and more intelligent look at my own responses. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2017, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leave-donald-alone-pleads-his-press-secretary/776125/202 "2017-01-04T06:12:00Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > That’s what he did with the Carrier deal. Half the jobs are still going to Mexico and just a few days after the deal was made, [the CEO announced the “saved” jobs would be automated out of existence.](http://www.businessinsider.com/united-tech-ceo-says-trump-deal-will-lead-to-more-automation-fewer-jobs-2016-12) Oh, come on, I know for a fact you’re way smarter than this. Hayes didn’t say the jobs would be automated out of existence under the new plan, only that there would be fewer of them. On top of which is the fact that regardless of what Carrier does, it’s only one company. The thrust of Trump’s administration, if he follows through with his campaign promises and at this point it looks like he will, will be to do all it can to persuade companies not to move out of the U.S. and to persuade those who’ve already done so to move back. He has said he intends to accomplish this through financial incentives and punitive tariffs for those who choose not to do so. I would imagine the number of companies coming in for pressure to stay in or move back to the U.S. numbers in the hundreds if not the thousands. What does or doesn’t happen with Carrier is a harbinger of absolutely nothing, much less a directed Trump administration plan to give companies tax breaks to automate their employees out of existence. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2017, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leave-donald-alone-pleads-his-press-secretary/776125/203 "2017-01-04T06:24:17Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > That’s all very nice but quite beside the point. For one thing many of the new jobs may simply be due to increased demand caused by a growing population. There are about 24 million more people in this country now (legally, that is) and when you throw in the who-knows-how-many illegal immigrants who are here the number is even higher. > > But like I said, all of that’s beside the point. The point is that Trump has made it a key point in his campaign to keep companies from moving their operations to other countries and he’s apparently been working hard since the election to begin to make that happen. If Obama has been working behind the scenes in anything approaching an effective way to keep U.S. companies from moving away or to entice or penalize those who’ve already moved to get them to come back, I’m unaware of it. > **[Three Ways to Bring Manufacturing Back to America | Washington Monthly](https://washingtonmonthly.com/2013/03/02/three-ways-to-bring-manufacturing-back-to-america/)** > > The much-ballyhooed “in-sourcing” trend is real enough. But it won’t amount to much unless Washington acts. > [@](#): > > In January 2012, President Barack Obama convened nineteen CEOs and business leaders at a White House forum to tout a potentially promising new phenomenon: instead of “shipping jobs overseas,” U.S. companies were bringing them back. “[W]hat these companies represent is a source of optimism and enormous potential for the future of America,” Obama said. “What they have in common is that they’re part of a hopeful trend: they are bringing jobs back > to America.” > > Anecdotally, the record is impressive. A number of major companies—including some of the same firms that first took flak for “offshoring” jobs to China—are now expanding their manufacturing operations stateside. General Electric, for example, says it has created 16,000 new U.S. jobs since 2009, including jobs at a new locomotive plant in Fort Worth, Texas; a solar panel factory in Aurora, Colorado; and an engine manufacturing facility in Pennsylvania. The company’s recent revival of Appliance Park, in Louisville, Kentucky, as a maker of high-end refrigerators, was the subject of high-profile coverage, including a recent piece in the Atlantic. > > Other companies that have seemingly caught the “reshoring” wave are appliance maker Whirlpool (which rejected sites in Mexico in favor of Tennessee), and iconic brands like Intel, Canon, Caterpillar, and DuPont. All of these firms have reported expanding or building new U.S. facilities in the last few years. In December 2012, computing giant Apple announced it would bring some Mac production back to America, investing about $100 million to do so. The harbinger you are talking about was happening already, but it is clear that the propaganda by Trump has it easy with many. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2017, 10:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leave-donald-alone-pleads-his-press-secretary/776125/204 "2017-01-04T10:22:13Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > …The whole idea of keeping companies in the U.S. is to provide jobs for American workers. No, the whole idea is to sell stuff to Americans. To that end, you will bend over backwards and bite your heels rather than piss-off Trump supporters or the sane. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2017, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leave-donald-alone-pleads-his-press-secretary/776125/205 "2017-01-04T10:54:30Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > Oh, come on, I know for a fact you’re way smarter than this. Hayes didn’t say the jobs would be automated out of existence under the new plan, only that there would be fewer of them. > > On top of which is the fact that regardless of what Carrier does, it’s only one company.\*\* The thrust of Trump’s administration, if he follows through with his campaign promises and at this point it looks like he will, will be to do all it can to persuade companies not to move out of the U.S. and to persuade those who’ve already done so to move back.\*\* He has said he intends to accomplish this through financial incentives and punitive tariffs for those who choose not to do so. I would imagine the number of companies coming in for pressure to stay in or move back to the U.S. numbers in the hundreds if not the thousands. What does or doesn’t happen with Carrier is a harbinger of absolutely nothing, much less a directed Trump administration plan to give companies tax breaks to automate their employees out of existence. I notice that since the announcement of the automation that trump has been silent on the deal. I guess losing jobs to automation is OK as long as the lost jobs were American. [Trump on his nominee](http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/12/08/fast-food-exec-puzder-is-trumps-pick-for-labor-secretary-sources-say.html) for Labor Secretary. > [@](#): > > “Andy Puzder has created and boosted the careers of thousands of Americans, and his extensive record fighting for workers makes him the ideal candidate to lead the Department of Labor,” Trump said in a statement. [Pudzer says different.](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/08/us/politics/andrew-puzder-labor-secretary-trump.html) > [@](#): > > Speaking to Business Insider this year, Mr. Puzder said that increased automation could be a welcome development because machines were “always polite, they always upsell, they never take a vacation, they never show up late, there’s never a slip-and-fall or an age, sex or race discrimination case.” I would also like to see Trump take the lead and bring the manufacture of his own products to this country. [sarcasm] I’m sure he’s working very hard on that.[/sarcasm] ---
**Author:** ![dasmoocher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@dasmoocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmoocher)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2017, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leave-donald-alone-pleads-his-press-secretary/776125/206 "2017-01-04T11:59:22Z")
I don’t think the [sarcasm]…[/sarcasm] thingy is recognised by Trump supporters. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2017, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leave-donald-alone-pleads-his-press-secretary/776125/207 "2017-01-04T12:00:31Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > “Paraphrased”? “Quoted directly”? You must be a Democrat. > [@Kimstu](#): > > 😕 Because I understand the difference between a paraphrase and a direct quote? Well, yes. Reading comprehension has a well-known liberal bias. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2017, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leave-donald-alone-pleads-his-press-secretary/776125/208 "2017-01-04T12:03:27Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > this fake news thread. The fake news (the claim that Trump had anything to do with an announcement from the year before last) is tangential to this thread. Please try to keep up with the class. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2017, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leave-donald-alone-pleads-his-press-secretary/776125/209 "2017-01-04T13:27:15Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > Why on earth would he do that? Good question, you tell me. > [@](#): > > Both scenarios are in direct conflict with both his campaign promises This is true, this is in direct conflict with the promises that he made to you o the campaign. Not new, there is a whole list of promises he made on the campaign that he has admitted to being pure bullshit to get him elected. Why do you think that this one is any different? > [@](#): > > and his actions since being elected. No, it is consistent with his actions since being elected, as it is his exact actions since being elected that we are talking about here. > [@](#): > > The whole idea of keeping companies in the U.S. is to provide jobs for American workers. Yeah, that’s what he told you. Did you think that that was the first lie he told you? At some point, you are going to feel so stupid when you realize how much of his lies you ate up. It may take longer, as you are still eating up his lies, and refusing to look around you, and see that you’ve been had. You’re grinning through the shit sandwich you are eating, trying to convince not just ourselves, as we look on, aghast, but yourself, that it is the most delicious ever! But I guess it is hard to acknowledge that you allowed yourself to be so misled. I wonder what it will take to wake you up to reality, and burst your little bubble of ignorance, or if such a thing is even possible. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2017, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leave-donald-alone-pleads-his-press-secretary/776125/210 "2017-01-04T14:34:54Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > :dubious: You can’t? In the very link that you included in your quote from **Steve MB** ’s post, Spicer’s own words are quoted directly: > > That’s the whiny, defensive attitude that the OP paraphrased as “Leave Donald Alone!” As noted in [Msg#122](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=19892200&postcount=122), the source of the meme agrees that it’s applicable here. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2017, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leave-donald-alone-pleads-his-press-secretary/776125/211 "2017-01-04T18:33:25Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > …But I guess it is hard to acknowledge that you allowed yourself to be so misled. I wonder what it will take to wake you up to reality, and burst your little bubble of ignorance, or if such a thing is even possible. Not quite fair. SA’s position on Trump, early on, was very negative. I remember, because it surprised me so much. So its not that he likes Trump so much as he hates us. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2017, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leave-donald-alone-pleads-his-press-secretary/776125/212 "2017-01-04T18:40:42Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > But like I said, all of that’s beside the point. The point is that Trump has made it a key point in his campaign to keep companies from moving their operations to other countries and he’s apparently been working hard since the election to begin to make that happen. Do you have any evidence for this claim? The only company with whom he has been involved was Carrier, where his VP-elect, not Trump, did the heavy lifting. Every other claim he has made, whether it was Ford, or Sprint, or whomever, was a lie in which he tried to take credit for decisions made in the months before the election. I see no evidence that he has been “working hard” on any of this, (or much else besides using Twitter to throw temper tantrums that other people are treating him they way that he treats people). What is the point of noting that his promise was a key point in his campaign when he as publicly shrugged off so many other campaign promises? ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2017, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leave-donald-alone-pleads-his-press-secretary/776125/213 "2017-01-04T18:41:35Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > Uh, hey everybody, have you seen where [Ford has scuttled its plans to build a new $1.6 billion dollar plant in Mexico](http://money.cnn.com/2017/01/03/news/economy/ford-700-jobs-trump/index.html) and decided to invest in expanding its Michigan plant and employing an additional 700 workers there instead? _[(wah-wah-WAAAAH muted trumpet)](http://www.newser.com/story/236365/ford-mexico-plant-cancellation-not-quite-what-it-seems.html)_ > [@](#): > > Ford may have found a successful strategy for dealing with Donald Trump: letting him take credit for stuff it was going to do anyway. The company’s announcement Tuesday that it’s canceling a $1.6 billion plant in Mexico was seen as a big victory for the president-elect, but a closer look at the company’s plans suggests Trump didn’t change anything, [NBC News reports](http://www.nbcnews.com/business/autos/ford-cancels-mexican-plant-still-moving-small-car-production-n702761). Ford is still shifting small-car production to Mexico, now to an existing plant in Hermosillo, and the $700 million investment in a Flat Rock, Mich., plant announced Tuesday appears to have already been in the pipeline, with the plant building two models that were not expected to be built in Mexico… ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2017, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leave-donald-alone-pleads-his-press-secretary/776125/214 "2017-01-04T19:03:40Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Not quite fair. SA’s position on Trump, early on, was very negative. I remember, because it surprised me so much. So its not that he likes Trump so much as he hates us. Actually I was for Trump early on and became negative toward him as the campaign progressed and I didn’t vote for him. But now that he’s been elected, I find that I’m both curious and cautiously optimistic about his presidency, especially since he’s doing as I’d hoped and seeming to back off from some of his more extreme positions. And you should know by now I don’t hate you, I’ve told you often enough given the many times you’ve said this. Besides, I’d bet significant money that your dislike for me far exceeds that of mine toward you. To tell the truth I actually kind of like you, in sort of an odd, perverse way. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![OwnRules](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ea666f/32.png) [@OwnRules](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OwnRules)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2017, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leave-donald-alone-pleads-his-press-secretary/776125/215 "2017-01-04T19:15:05Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > …To tell the truth I actually kind of like you, in sort of an odd, perverse way. 🙂 Say no more: paper towel tubes. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2017, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leave-donald-alone-pleads-his-press-secretary/776125/216 "2017-01-04T19:22:31Z")
Posters like\*\* SA \*\*literally do not understand why we do not show obedience to authority. It is simply beyond his comprehension that anyone would not simply obey and believe whatever the authority figure tells him. If Trump tweets tomorrow that henceforth, cats will now be called dogs… the that is EXACTLY what **SA** will do. He will swear on a stack of bibles that the animal meowing at his feet is a dog. Yesterday it was a cat, but now IT IS A DOG. Because the authority told him so. Trump is now the authority. His words are law. When Trump says Assange is terrific, THEN ASSANGE IS TERRIFIC. It matters not what Trump said before. This is really all you need to know about Trump’s followers. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2017, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leave-donald-alone-pleads-his-press-secretary/776125/217 "2017-01-04T19:43:35Z")
Where the hell did that ridiculous bit of nonsense come from? And what on earth makes you think people like me love authority? Liberals are the ones who love government and insist that everyone fall in lockstep with their thinking. History has shown the degree of authoritarianism that occurs when liberalism gets free rein/reign, as in every. single. country where communism has come to power. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2017, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leave-donald-alone-pleads-his-press-secretary/776125/218 "2017-01-04T19:55:33Z")
Now that Trump says Putin is a great guy, and Russia is a terrific place, then: Trump supporters say “PUTIN IS A GREAT GUY. RUSSIA IS A TERRIFIC PLACE”. Trump could literally name Putin as his chief advisor, and have him installed in the Whitehouse, and Trump supporters would have no problem with this. Trump could hand Kim Jong-Un the codes to US submarine nuclear launch codes, and Trump supporters would praise his cleverness. ---
**Author:** ![MindsEye\_Watering](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindseye_watering/32/3619_2.png) [@MindsEye\_Watering](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MindsEye_Watering)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2017, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leave-donald-alone-pleads-his-press-secretary/776125/219 "2017-01-04T19:56:27Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > Liberals are the ones who love government and insist that everyone fall in lockstep with their thinking. Wow! He can tell what I’m thinking and believe?! What evil magic is this? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2017, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leave-donald-alone-pleads-his-press-secretary/776125/220 "2017-01-04T20:08:08Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > Where the hell did that ridiculous bit of nonsense come from? > > And what on earth makes you think people like me love authority? Liberals are the ones who love government and insist that everyone fall in lockstep with their thinking. History has shown the degree of authoritarianism that occurs when liberalism gets free rein/reign, as in every. single. country where communism has come to power. Liberalism is communism? Didn’t. Know. That. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leave-donald-alone-pleads-his-press-secretary/776125.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leave-donald-alone-pleads-his-press-secretary/776125.md?page=12)