Donald Trump went to Kenosha, Wisconsin, on Tuesday to tout his new “Buy American, Hire American” executive order. His remarks were filled with big talk, as expected whenever Trump opens his mouth, but as you’d also expect of anything coming from Trump, there are a whole lot of asterisks attached to the order.
First, of course, is the fact that Trump’s own businesses don’t come close to fulfilling his big “Buy American, Hire American” talk. The Washington, D.C., hotel that opened while he was out campaigning on making America great again is filled with imported products. He used Chinese steel in recent construction projects. Ivanka Trump-branded clothes continue to be made in China. Eric Trump's winery has applied for dozens of guestworker visas since November’s election.
The fact that Trump talks the talk but doesn’t walk the walk in his business life isn’t the only problem here, though. Take his pledge to crack down on H-1B visas.
“It doesn’t do anything,” said William Stock, president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) in Philadelphia. That’s because the changes Trump campaigned on need to be approved by Congress.
“Wage levels? Set by Congress. H-1B lottery system? Set by Congress. Changing the way visas are allocated…He needs to talk to Congress.”
As for Trump’s promises on enforcing existing Buy American provisions, well, we’ll see. This is not exactly Mr. Follow-Through, after all, and if it comes down to a choice between actually pressuring some businesses to buy American when it’s not convenient for them to do so or letting businesses do what they want while bragging about his “Buy American, Hire American” executive order … which do you think he’s going to choose?