In infrastructure speech, Trump says infrastructure probably won't happen until after midterms
President Trump pitched his infrastructure plan Thursday in Ohio -- sort of. In a speech to union workers, Mr. Trump said infrastructure probably won't happen until after the midterm elections.
"I don't think you're going to get Democrats' support very much," Mr. Trump said. "And you'll probably have to wait until after the election, which isn't so long down the road. ... We probably have to wait until after the election. Because the Democrats say, 'Don't give him any more wins!'"
The president blamed Democrats, saying they probably don't want to vote for his plan. But the White House has floated infrastructure changes for the last year, with little progress. And Democrats have a shot at winning the House majority in November. Mr. Trump's $1.5 trillion infrastructure plan only relies on $200 billion in federal funding. The rest is expected to come from state and local governments, although there is no mechanism requiring states and local governments to contribute anything.
It was Mr. Trump's first public address since firing former Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin Wednesday -- an announcement made via Twitter -- and since the adult film actress known as Stormy Daniels appeared on Sunday's edition of "60 Minutes." Mr. Trump's rally speech came moments after a judge in California announced Mr. Trump would not be deposed in the lawsuit the woman has filed against Mr. Trump and his lawyer, Michael Cohen.
But, in typical Trump fashion, the president touched on other topics too -- even mentioning offhandedly that the U.S. will be pulling out of Syria "soon," and leave the job to someone else. He didn't say who. Mr. Trump said the U.S. has spent $7 trillion in the Middle East, leaving no money for infrastructure for schools in the U.S. Mr. Trump said U.S. infrastructure often makes it look like a "third-world nation."
Follow below for live updates from earlier.
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Trump says U.S. is like a third-world nation on infrastructure
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Mr. Trump went around the room noting who was present.
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The president was greeted by Shawn Steel, the Republican National Committeeman from California, and other GOP officials.
Excerpts of Trump's speech, as prepared
Here are some things Mr. Trump is supposed say:
Joined by our friends here in Ohio, my administration is fighting every day to protect, defend and grow American jobs. We have eliminated a record number of job-killing regulations. We made HISTORY by massively reducing job-killing taxes.
We are keeping our promises, and the results are in: 3 million new jobs since Election Day. Unemployment claims are at their lowest level in 45 years. African-American unemployment has reached the lowest levels ever recorded. Hispanic-American unemployment rate has also reached the lowest levels ever recorded. And wages are rising at the fastest level in more than a decade.
We are going to REBUILD America's crumbling infrastructure.
We will transform our roads and bridges from a source of endless frustration into a source of incredible pride.