WASHINGTON _ President Donald Trump flew to Ohio on Wednesday to take credit for reviving an Ohio tank factory, attempting to smooth over economic trouble signs in a politically crucial state where his trade war is hurting manufacturing.
Though tariffs have taken a toll on jobs and confidence, Trump has tried to compensate with an infusion of military spending. The tank factory he is visiting in Lima, operated by General Dynamics, nearly closed six years ago; Army officials told Congress that they didn't need any more of the heavy M-1 Abrams tanks it produces because they are less geared toward modern wars against insurgents.
But Trump, who has significantly increased military spending, signed a spending bill authorizing more than $2 billion for the tank, adding hundreds of jobs to a town that had long been heavily dependent on the defense industry.
He will also hold a fundraiser in Canton, but is bypassing Lordstown, the site of a General Motors plant that is shutting down, in an attempt to shift the storyline from one about job losses.
"The story of the day may be about how the Trump administration saved the Lima plant from a near-death experience under President Barack Obama," Peter Navarro, a Trump trade adviser, wrote in an opinion piece published Tuesday in The New York Times.
Late last year, GM Chief Executive Mary Barra cited Trump's steel and aluminum tariffs, which have cost her company and Ford roughly $1 billion each, when announcing the closure of the Lordstown plant in northeastern Ohio. The result was a loss of 1,600 jobs there, plus hundreds of others at suppliers and related companies.
On Wednesday, Trump gave no indication that the trade war with China would end soon, after months of hinting that negotiations for a deal were in the final stages. He has said he is likely to hold a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping to sign an agreement, but the date has slipped from his initial suggestions of a February meeting.
Recently Trump suspended a March 1 deadline for increasing auto tariffs to 25 percent. The president told reporters that, absent a deal, the existing tariffs he's imposed are bringing in "billions and billions" of dollars. However, the federal government has spent more in payments to farmers to offset their losses from other nations' retaliatory tariffs than it has collected in tariff revenues.
In recent tweets, Trump put pressure on GM to reopen the plant and blamed its closure on local United Auto Workers leader David Green, who heads the chapter that represents workers at the Lordstown plant.
"I want action on Lordstown fast," the president tweeted. "Stop complaining and get the job done! 3.8 percent Unemployment!"
Trump's re-election prospects would take a blow if he is not able to win Ohio, a long-time electoral bellwether that favored him in 2016. Ultimately, his success in the state in 2020 likely hinges more on local manufacturing jobs, which have been hurt by tariffs in his ongoing trade war with China, than the broader state of the nation's overall economy.
Since he took office, Trump has seen his net approval rating in Ohio drop by 19 percentage points, according to a Morning Consult tracking poll.
While the national unemployment rate did drop to 3.8 percent in February, Ohio's economy, which was hit harder by the recession, lagged behind. In January, the most recent month for which data is available, the state's jobless rate was at 4.7 percent, continuing an uneven recovery that began before Trump took office.
Job growth in manufacturing has picked up, as it has nationally, but service employment growth has been weak. If factory closures continue, the overall picture could sour.
