nobody makes what we make. and foreign country, you know that. foreign countries, you know that. if they're aties, least semifriendly, we can't sell it to everybody unfortunately. we do have a little standard, right? but if they're sort of friendly, we're selling them a hell of a lot of stuff and that's good for jobs. remember that. fer decades, the united states was the piggy bank that everybody was robbing. we were the big, dumb, piggy bank. and everybody was robbing us blind. the whole world. the united states had racked up $13 trillion in trade deficits since 1994. think of that. $13 trillion. since china's entry into the world trade organization, another disaster for us, in 2001, that's when china, it was

flat lined for decades and decades and exactly with the world trade organization, they shot up and went through the roof. but right now, we're doing a lot better than china and we're doing a lot better than any country on earth. we're rated number one in the world for growth and other elements. number one in the world. did you ever think you were going to hear that again? [cheers and applause] but before, and this is a number that when i say it, even on the campaign i used to say, the fake news is going to kill me on this, if they catch you making a little mistake. i'd say we've lost 60,000 american factories. factory, not people. factly -- factories. 60,000 like this who would even think we have so many? it's impossible. i used to think it was a mistake. then i very sheep herbly, i said

it. 60,000. i went through a speech. i didn't get corrected. then again, 60,000. then after four or five times i realized that they agree that we lost 60,000. we lost 60,000 factories. do you know how many jobs that is? nobody even knows how many jobs. and we lost them because of stupidity. stupidity. we lost them to other countries. we lost our businesses and our jobs to other countries. that fire you -- they fire you and they go to other countries that make the product they sell it into our country, tax free, no tax, don't worry about it. how stupid were we? i probably got elected largely on that. i probably did. probably got elected largely on that not entirely. a lot of other stupid things we've done too. but that was a factor. because that's not free trade.

that's fool's trade. that's fools' trade. to all of the media critics, the lobbyists, who don't want us to defend american jobs, you have people that say it's ok when we close the factory here and we buy steel from some country way far away. i say to those people, that we are not starting a trade war. we've been in a trade war for any years and we lost for many years. but over the last year and a half we are winning. we are back and we are winning and we are winning bigger than anyone understands. cheers and applause] we've take then toughest ever actions in response to china's very abusive trade practices. and i have to be honest, president xi is a friend of mine, he's a great man, great guy. but we've taken very tough

action. because we couldn't continue to go on with it. last year, they lost $375 billion on trade with china. and that doesn't include the theft of intellectual property. think of that. $375 billion. it's crazy. not going to happen anymore. it's not going to happen anymore. we're putting the world's trade cheaters on notice, no one rips off the united states of america and nobody takes advantage of our workers or our companies anymore. [applause] this includes protecting our great farmers. our farmers are incredible. agriculture and related industries have lost one million jobs in the last 20 years. now china is going after our soybean farmers in the hopes we will surrender our intellectual

property and that they will be able to continue to make $500 off theand $375 billion big, fat, sloppy united states. not happening, folks. and our farmers are patriots. remember that. our farmers are patriots. and they're saying, the president is doing the right thing. [applause] they're saying it. these are incredible. they interview them on television. they say, i know it's going to be a little tough for a while but he's doing the right thing because everybody knows we've been ripped off for so long and he's doing the right thing. these are incredible people and you know we've given them a little help yesterday. we're giving them help. and everybody is going to be back because we have the greatest farms in the world. we have the greatest equipment in the world. there's nobody can compete with us with agriculture. and these tactics are not

working because we're not going to give china or any other country a veto on united states national security. we're not going to do it. and we will not let anybody bully our wonderful american farmers. our fortunes as a nation rise and fall together and that is why we are going to stick together and win for our farmers and our factory workers, our steelworkers, here we are. all across this nation. i'm very proud to report we have reached a breakthrough agreement yesterday with the european union, commonly referred to as europe. [cheers and applause] to begin lowering trade barriers and establishing a trade relationship that is fair and my favorite word, reciprocal. reciprocal. the european union, and they

understood this was wrong but they had barriers where they would sell their cars, we couldn't sell cars into them. they would tax us. but we would tax them far less. by the way, i'll give you one example because it really works. when we build a car and sell it into china, they charge us a tariff of 25%. when they build a car and sell it into the united states, we charge them a tariff of 2.5%. and by the way, they don't pay it. so we get 2.5% and they get 25%. other than that, it's a very fair deal. does that sound fair to you? i say where the hell have our people been? and honsly, i don't think they cared. i just don't think they cared. and it's nasty. look at the bad press i'm getting. oh, he's putting tariffs on. he's being nasty. he was nasty at nato.

they said i was too nasty to nato and too nice to russia. figure that one out. and yet i'm the one that told nato and germany why are you selling -- why are you doing this? why are you buying all this gas and paying russia billions and billions of dollars for your energy? i brought that up. but they said, he was so nasty. let me tell you what happened with nato. last year they paid $44 billion more than they ever paid before. and if you look at nato, it was going this way. it was going down. everybody was delinquent. not everybody but almost everybody. the united states wasn't. by the way, germany pays 1%. and we pay 4.3%. do you think that's good? and the one thing i know about nato for sure, it's better for europe than it is for us. lot better for europe. but think of it. so you had these countries

paying so little and that gives them a big economic advantage because we're protecting them and they have a very small cost of military. whereas we have a matsive cost, i just told you, $700 billion and we're protecting them. so at the end of that meeting, they agreed that they would be paying up hundreds of billions of dollars more money will be spent on nato. and we're not going up by the way. we're not going up. [applause] we're not going up. hundreds of billions of dollars. and the head of nato, the secretary of general, great guy, he's my biggest fan in the whole world he said without president trump, these people just weren't paying their bills. and now they're paying their bills and they're proud to do it. but the press said i treated them badly. treated them with disrespect. these are kingsing queens,

presidents. prime ministers. and a dictator or two. they were the ones that were table to pay the easiest. so i did a good job with you, but they don't talk about that. there were stories written about my attitude with nato and they didn't say that hundreds of billions of dollars more have been agreed to be paid. and that was the whole purpose. because our country was being taken advantage of. we were paying anywhere from 70% to 90% the cost of 29 total countries in nato. not anymore. not anymore. as part of our agreement. [applause] by the way, to finish that up, kim jong un, making terrific progress.

when i met with president obama, it sounded like he was ready to go to war. with north korea. sounded like he was ready to go to war. i said did you ever speak to him? no. i said wouldn't it be nice to at least speak? did you ever speak to him? no. but it sounded to me, respectfully, like he was ready to go to war. seoul a massive city, 30 miles away from the border. forget about nuclear. they have thousands and thousands of cannon they call them cannons. massive guns. aimed right at seoul. and now you see what's happening. now who knows ultimately what's going to happen but for nine months, no nuclear tests. no rockets going up. no missiles other japan. we got our three hostages back. [applause] got our three hostages back. and we didn't pay $1.8 billion

for the hostages, by the way. paid nothing. but he was very smart. and we have established really a very good registration relationship. but at the beginning, the news was saying, what he is saying is going to cause war. he's being horrible. he's totally unhinged. when i used terms like little rocket man. other terms. but honestly, now i have a great relationship, i think. i think. with chairman kim. and i think a lot of good things are going to happen. and without that rhetoric and without the sanctions and without all the other things that we've been doing, nothing could have happened. now you read where they're dismaventling nuclear areas. they've already blown up some nuclear areas. they took down all the propaganda that was all over north korea. signs, music, all of this stuff

taken down. it's gone. making a lot of progress. but if you read the papers, you wouldn't understand that. because you don't get the real view from the fake news media. so it's very important. that's one of the advantages. e of the advantages to speaking to tremendous amounts of -- look at those cameras back there. it's like the academy awards. there's no difference. but one of the advantages, i can say it. it's covered live. much of it. and when i say it, they can't do anything about it. because they say it. so at least they hear our point of view. it's really our point of view, not my point of view, but our point of view. it's the point of view of commonsense and strength. common sense and strength. and the stronger we get, the less people are going to be messing with us. we don't want to use that kind of strength. we don't want to use that kind of power.

but the more power we have, the more we're not going to have to use it. very simple. so as part of my agreement with the european union, they've agreed to purchase almost immediately large amounts of american soybeans because china really tried to hurt the american farmer. china tried to hurt the american farmer because that way they were going to hurt me and that way you would go in november and you would vote for people that don't want borders they don't care about crime they want to get rid of i.c.e. democrats. how about the new ones? they want to get rid of i.c.e. i.c.e. is tough. and i.c.e. is smart. and they go in and they knock the hell out of ms-13678 these are killers. they use knives because it's more painful than guns. i.c.e. goes in like it's a day

at the office. these are tough people. got to be tough people. because ms-13 and these gangs that the worst laws, immigration laws in history have allowed into our country, catch and release, how about that one. you catch a criminal. you take his name and then you release him. he's got to show up to court within four or five years. in the meantime, they're committing crime in our countryful these are the law we was to work with and despite that we're setting records. but we have horrible, horrible immigration laws. and we're going to get them fixed. you got to vote republican, folks. got to vote republican. [cheers and applause] vote for these two congressmen. they know what we're doing. they know what they're doing. they're tough, they're tough and they're smart. they're also going to increase purchases european union of american energy and work with us

to protect intellectual property which is being stolen at levels that nobody has ever seen before. i want to personally thank european commission president jean-claude junquer for working to forge this historic agreement. he's actually a very tough, very smart, very good man. if i didn't make a deal with him, i wouldn't be saying that. i'd say he's a terrible person. in everything we do, every action we take, my administration is fighting for the loyal, hardworking citizens of our country. men and women like you who make our country great, who make our country run. i'd like to invite some of the incredible workers here at fwra in it city up on stage to personally share their stories. really fast. patricia bertrand has worked here for 18 years. when furnace b restarted last

month, patricia kristened it with a bottle of champagne, in other words she love this is place, i think. is that right? >> i do. president trump: good. say something. >> thank you. [applause] breaking the champagne bottle on the b furnace last month's restart celebration was a special honor. i was impacted two years ago when the plant was idle. prior to that i had worked at granite city works for 16 years and was able to provide a comfortable life for me and my family. granite city works is home to me and driving past the quiet plant was difficult. many families including my own suffered and local businesses. it is great to see the plant up and running, everyone back to work and the community thriving. thank you, mr. president. [applause] president trump: beautiful. thank you.

what a good job. pa shish shah don't ever run against our congressman, please, because you're going to win and we need them. don't ever run against them. what a great job. also joining us is tony zadalek a bricklayer who has worked here or 36 years, tomei come on up. tell us how it feels to be back on your job. >> i want to thank everybody here for slg me -- having me up, especially president trump, two years ago like a lot of people in this room i got a phone call that was a gut wrenching call. not knowing where the next house payment would come. three boys in college at the time. and in those two years, thanks to mr. trump and everybody who supported him, we're back here now, things are better, and

future is looking fantastic. thank you for supporting him and thank you. cheers and applause] president trump: thank you, tony. eautiful. president trump: the second generation of the family to work here at the granite city mill. bobby. ome on up. >> how exciting is this? [cheers and applause] rest her up here, god soul. she worked in a machine shop for 37 years. i joined the marine corps and realized what kind of family that is and each one of you guys

and gals are my family. start up, stay up. cheers and applause] president trump: i would like to hear from neal, a third-generation employee who started here over 40 years ago and climbed the ranks to become the plant manager and now he's back. how does that feel? come on up. [cheers and applause] >> on behalf of my work family here at granite city works, i thank you, mr. president. it truly is a family here. i see the familiar faces of the people i have seen every day. as i grew up with most of you, went to school with most of you or your pearnlts. as plant manager it was difficult laying off people and getting the calls. after the layoffs, hearing about

the struggles, hearing about the personal lives. hearing about the community, how it was suffering. however, the plant was able to come back thanks to all the hard work from every one of you and the dedication from every one of you. and your support, mr. president. cheers and applause] >> i look around here today and i see the smiling faces. we owe that to you, mr. president. thank you very much. president trump: thank you very much. cheers and applause] president trump: incredible. incredible job. all four, thank you very much. and those stories are inspiring

for everybody in our country and you have a lot of people listening right now. we want every american to know the dignity of work, the pride of a paycheck and satisfaction of a job well done. that's what's happening right here in granite city. made in america. it's not a slogan but a way of life. cheers and applause] president trump: i remember when i was growing up, made in the u.s.a., it was on everything. it was on everything. a country, people used to take single dollar bills and used to paint them and paste them onto the windshield of their car because it represented america. that's all coming back. made in the u.s.a., made in america, we are proud of it

again. with your help, we are lifting up workers all across our land. we are lifting up the miners who blast off from minnesota's iron wrench. e dock workers on duluth who loaded on to barges, the crew members that navigate down the great lakes through the michigan locks and on to illinois. the well workers who haul it right here to beautiful granite city. cheers and applause] president trump: e who touches the barges, the cranes and the trains that carry your work to

destinations all across our country and the world, to factories and construction sites into or our stores, homes and drive ways. we thank you. we are a nation of builders, makers and creators. in the furnaces of our factories we forge power and prestige. remember that word, prestige. our country is becoming prestigious again. i meet with leaders. they all come to me and congratulate me on what we have done. they respect us again. america is back. cheers and applause] president trump: our country is back. we see the proud legacy of our steel workers all across this magnificent landscape. in our city sky lines and bridges and pipelines from the

empire state building to that shining monument to america's pioneering spirit, the gateway arch, the soul of our nation lives in our people. the heart of our nation beats in our citizens and the destiny of r nation is found in our two hands. [cheers and applause] president trump: we all share the same home. we all salute the same great american flag. [cheers and applause] president trump: and we are all made by the same almighty god. [cheers and applause] president trump: i will never stop fighting for you because i know you are the ones that are rebuilding our nation. you are the ones reclaiming our

dreams, and yes, you are the ones who are making america great again. thank you. god bless you. and god bless the united states of america. thank you, everybody. [cheers and applause]

>> that wraps up president trump's comments. we are going live to a conversation on north korea. rlier today, the president participated in a round-table discussion on --

>> and just for a little bit longer watch the room in granite city, illinois, before we go to ur next program.

>> i got too big a voice, maybe. thank you all for coming. phaul.chael mc we have a fantastic collection f academics who populate various centers including two who are represented here tonight. we are a place dedicated to interdiss palestinian area research with respect to foreign policy and international affairs. and we want to increase our