Well, thank you very much. It's great to be with you. We've had some big things happen over the last couple of days, and we'll talk about them. But before I do that, I want to talk about something extremely, extremely important. I'm delighted to welcome to the White House the founder and chairman of the Essar Group, Ravi Ruia, as well as the chairman of -- Ray Ruia and President/CEO Joe Broking to share some of the really exciting things.
We have some unbelievable news. And there's a company known as Mesabi, which is one of the biggest in the world. It's a great company, and they're going to make a big investment in a place called Iowa. I love Iowa. I win Iowa every time. Today, we're thrilled to announce that Mesabi Metallics will be building the largest steel plant in American history in the great state of Iowa.
It's the largest plant, one of the largest plants in the world, but it's the largest plant in America by far. We're also pleased to be joined by Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, Senator Joni Ernst, who's done a wonderful job, and I'm going to miss you, Joni.
Thank you. Thank you so much --
I can't believe you're leaving.
Mr. President.
But you are, right? Are you? You're sure you don't want to change your mind? [Laughter]
Thank you, Mr. President.
Governor Kim Reynolds, Representatives Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Ashley Hinson. And I saw some good polls just recently. They're -- you're doing well, Ashley. I saw that.
Yes, sir. We're going to win.
Looks like you're doing well. You should do well. Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird, who's been with me right from the beginning, and Export-Import Bank Chairman John Jovanovic, who is a fantastic young man, actually. Once completed, Mesabi Metallics' new steel plant will produce 10 million tons of steel per year using iron ore from the company's Minnesota mine.
And Minnesota has -- I will tell you they maybe have a lousy governor, but they have great iron ore. They have one of the worst governors in history, a real stupid guy, but they do have good iron ore, which is more important, I guess. But it's the first new iron ore mine in the United States in more than 50 years, with the highest quality ore.
In other words, this steel will be mined, melted, and made right here in the USA, which is something very unusual. The project is expected to create up to 6,000 new construction jobs, nearly 2,000 manufacturing and mining jobs, and add another $95 billion to the US economy, which is the number one economy in the world by far.
We have the best economy we've ever had. We're building $21 trillion worth of plants and other -- now I think we can add this to it. I'm not even including this. But this is a tremendous investment, and it's going to be -- over the next ten years, using advanced steelmaking technology, the plant will produce some of the highest quality, most affordable steel anywhere in the world.
They're going to be making it here and using it here and also shipping it outside and do very well. This announcement is only possible because of the pro-American policies of the Trump administration. Under Sleepy Joe Biden -- have you heard of him -- steel production declined significantly, and nearly 200,000 manufacturing jobs were lost in the year before I took office.
And they were leaving. They were losing these jobs at record numbers. But soon after my inauguration, I imposed powerful 50 percent tariffs on all foreign steel and now our steel industry's roaring back to life. Everyone's building their plant here because they don't want to pay tariffs. It's really not that complicated.
A lot of people say they don't understand it, but they do. They just don't like to give us credit. Because of tariffs, we are taking in hundreds of billions of dollars of profits. It's one of the reasons I can offer, if Republicans win the House and the Senate, $5,000 to every adult. And we can do it and the Democrats can't, because the Democrats don't have any income and they're going to drive us into a depression.
They won't have any money, but we have the exact opposite. We've reduced imports of foreign steel by millions of tons. And for the first time in 26 years, the United States has surpassed Japan in steel production. Think of it. We have surpassed Japan. They're very good at what they do, too. We currently have $47 billion in projects announced or underway in the steel sector alone.
More than four million tons of new crude steelmaking capacity is expected to become operational in less than two years, substantially. We've created nearly 60,000 new manufacturing jobs this year alone, many of them in the steel industry. And today we're adding even more, the largest American steel plant of all time.
So, two years ago, our country was dead and now we have the hottest country anywhere in the world, and it's not even close. Ravi, Ray and Joe, I want to thank you very much for this tremendous investment. I'd like to now invite the -- Chairman Jovanovic to say a few words, followed by Secretary Lutnick, Secretary Wright.
The team from Mesabi, I want to really hear from them. Perhaps I want to hear from them first, if that's all right. We'll let them go first. He's my friend. Governor Reynolds, Senator Ernst and then Representatives Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Ashley Hinson. We'll go a little bit quickly because that's a lot of people.
That's a lot of people. So, Mr. Chairman, if you would, please?
Yes, sir. Thank you, Mr. President. So, what we're really talking about today is America's economic security. And it's -- Mr. President, it's your plan in action, but it all starts mining more in America. The mine you mentioned is the first mine opened in America in 50 plus years focused on iron ore. EXIM financed it, and most importantly, it's found on the Iron Range in America, which for 145 years has been the most prolific iron ore deposit in the world.
It helped build America. It helped win two world wars. You're helping resurrect it, Mr. President, with the first iron ore mine. That is why this plant is possible, because we are creating one American supply chain. And what you see again here today, Mr. President, is private capital flowing in to rebuild America and to build America's future, so we can assure that the warfighter of tomorrow in America is always well equipped and that every day Americans have what they need when they need it most.
And this is what it's going to take to continue to deliver the American dream, Mr. President, for another 250 years.
And how is the governor treating you? Because I freed up the iron ore in that place, and I absolutely won the election, but they wouldn't -- they cheat like hell. But how is the governor treating you?
Because I freed it up and then they closed it, and the people were devastated, because it is the finest iron ore in the world, they say. So how is the governor and these other people that don't real -- I mean, it's one of the worst run places I've ever seen. How are they doing?
You know, Mr. President, we were there only 10 days ago, actually to initiate the mine. We set off 1.3 million pounds of explosives that put it into operation and that will be the iron ore that feeds this plant and to make steel in America --
And we can supersede the state, right?
Yes.
If we can supersede the state, it's good. Otherwise, the state will never be good. They're very -- they're really troubled people. Thank you, Alex. Great job you're doing, too, by the way. Secretary Lutnick, please.
OK. So these are your 232 tariffs, the steel tariffs, at work. Without those tariffs, this mine doesn't get built and this steel plant does not get built. $2.5 billion iron ore mine. It does iron ore pellets, right? And where do we get those pellets from now, we get them primarily from Brazil. So we are beholden to Brazil to build our steel in America because the input is coming from outside the country.
So now we are unleashing the Iron Range in Minnesota, which is the greatest, as the chairman said, the greatest set of iron in the world is right here in America. We're going to these gentlemen to my right from Essar. They're doing a fantastic job. $2.5 billion for the mine and then you go right down the Mississippi to Iowa, right, where they're going to build a $15 billion integrated steel plant, which will create steel at the same price they make it and import it from China.
This is competitive. If you do it all here and you don't ship it from around the world, you don't buy it from other people, this is exactly your plan, this is exactly why you're doing it, because you're driving steel to America. The gentleman to our right from Essar are fantastic. This is great for Iowa.
It's great for Minnesota. This is your plan, living it out in America, building $17.5 billion investment, bringing steel, which protects our national security home to America. Well done.
Thank you very much. And we're also doing a tremendous aluminum plant in Oklahoma, one of my favorite places in the whole world, and that's going to be unbelievable. It'll be the biggest, I think, the biggest in the world and that's going to be very exciting. Uh, Secretary Wright, please.
So this is the Trump Reindustrialization of America hitting the ground at serious scale. At the end of World War II, the United States produced 60 percent of global steel. We were the dominant economic power and military power in the world and that means you're a massive steel producer. We've gone decades in the wrong direction, short-sighted political leadership, overblown environmental concerns, that just said, make it somewhere else, don't make it in America.
President Trump got elected to reindustrialize our country, bring back jobs, opportunity and national security back to our country. You've heard about the mine in Minnesota. That's fantastic. Even bigger is where is that iron ore going to be turned into American steel, in Iowa, in southeastern Iowa. Why?
Because Iowa has tremendous hard working people, great leaders that believe in their state and believe in high paying jobs for everyone in the state of Iowa. And then they meet up together with some of the best entrepreneurs in the world, on planet Earth, just to my right, right here from Essar, who are many businesses around the world, and that leads to a giant investment to Reindustrialize America, a win for American national security and a massive economic win in vote of confidence in the fabulous state of Iowa.
You are doing a great job. Thank you very much. And how are you doing in Venezuela, by the way?
Progress. Every day, progress.
There's never been anything like it. That's a tremendous thing that's happening. Uh, Mesabi Metallics, the leaders are here. The owner is here.
Thank you.
One of the richest men in the world, I will tell you. He won't say it, but I will tell you. He's unbelievable with the son [ph], and please.
Thank you, Mr. President, for bringing back the importance of building things in America. While I was born in India, I went to high school in New York, college in Boston, and did my MBA in California. I spent half my life here so announcing this investment today is a great honor and a true homecoming for me. My family and I spend a lot of time in Minnesota, where we are investing $3 billion to build the first new mine in America in 50 years.
We will be producing the Patriot Pellet very soon, which will be amongst the highest quality iron ore pellets in the world. With the new steel complex in Iowa, we will complete the fully integrated American supply chain from mine to mill American ore carried on American railroads to an American steel plant powered by American energy, built and operated by an incredibly hard working and talented American workforce.
Mr. President, this plant will use the latest technology and will compete head to head with any steel plant in the world on size, quality and on cost. This project writes the next chapter for our company and our family, and it is your policy and your leaderships, Mr. President, that have made this possible.
Thank you, sir.
So how did your handsome son do? Don't try and compete with him. You're not going to be successful. Go ahead. What a great family, what a good job you did.
Thank you, sir.
Thank you very much. Please.
Mr. President, Governor Reynolds, the entire Iowa delegation, Secretary Lutnick, Secretary Wright and Chairman Jovanovic, my brother Shashi and I founded Essar many decades ago. We are a family business and above all, we are builders. We have built world-class steel plants, oil refineries, ports, power plants and various other assets in India and overseas.
Mr. President, we have now chosen to build our next major chapter here in America. We have the expertise of building projects like the proposed steel plant in Iowa, and we look forward to complement all the excellent knowledge that already exists within the American steel industry with our own expertise.
I would like to acknowledge the support of your administration, which has been highly engaged and proactive. I would like to thank Governor Reynolds, as well as the Iowa delegation, for making us feel welcome in Iowa and for the care, for the benefit of all Iowans as they support this mega investment. Thank you, Mr. President, for your leadership and your confidence in Essar and the Royal Family.
Thank you again, sir, for standing behind American investment and American industry and for making this possible. Thank you, sir.
Thank you. Great job. And what do you think the total cost will be, your investment will be?
About $18 billion.
$18 billion? I heard $20 billion. That means he's pulling it back and I got a good price. So that's $18 billion -- that's -- who could -- who could think of such a thing, so fantastic. And these are the highest quality people you'll ever meet. It's great. Kim Reynolds, please.
Well, first of all, Mr. President, I want to say thank you to you. Uh, your commitment to bringing manufacturing back to the States and really restoring American industrial dominance is the reason that this is happening. This would not be happening without your leadership, so a heartfelt thank you --
Thank you.
-- for what you're doing for this country. And I think it underscores, you know, COVID underscores how important this is. We saw what happened during COVID and the opportunities that exist because of the leadership that you can play, so thank you so much for that. We really appreciate it. I also want to just say a heartfelt thank you to Ravi, uh, Ray and Joe.
Uh, it has been an incredible synergy in the state of Iowa working on this project. Both tough negotiations took place, but the mindset was always to get to where we are at today and we could not be prouder than being the future home of the largest steel investment in this country.
That's right.
And the impact that we'll have is just undeniable. This is a transformational opportunity not only for our country, but for Iowa and really for American families. It reduces our dependence on our foreign supply chain, strengthens our national security and most importantly, as the governor for Iowa these are tremendous, high-paying jobs with incredible benefits, increased salaries and opportunities for local businesses and community development.
And also, we're standing up Source Iowa at the end of this week, so we want to make sure that Iowa businesses that are located in the state have the opportunity to partner with Mesabi Metallics. So I can't even express the gratitude and the excitement of Iowans. And really what this does is it changes the economic trajectory for this region.
It's one of the most depressed regions of Iowa, but not only for Iowa, but for the whole Midwest of the over the fence supply chain that will come to this area because of this investment is second to none.
So, thank you for your leadership again, and for helping make this possible. We're very grateful.
And you'll never have higher quality people than these people. These people are, I mean, really amazing. And I don't know -- let me ask you. So, can they use a little ethanol to feel the --
Good idea. [Laughter] I was waiting -- I was waiting for an opportunity to talk about E15 year round. But you know what? The infrastructure updates are also huge. This is an area that's missed out on a lot of --
Yeah.
Projects over the last five years because --
Great people.
We didn't have the capacity of natural gas. And this actually brings additional capacity for natural gas, power, rail and roads to a state that's ready to lean in and help you bring back industrial dominance.
But you do, you have great ethanol.
Yeah.
And that's probably going to play a very big role. Joni, please?
Thank you, Mr. President. Ok, folks, this is one of the greatest American muscle flexes that you are going to see in a long time. I am so excited about this project. It would not be possible, Mr. -- Mr. President, if you had not set this stage with your policies and economic development and using resources right here in our homeland.
So, I want to thank the entire Trump administration team. I want to thank Essar. Thank you all so much for choosing Iowa to produce your steel. We're excited about it. We are looking for ways for America to refine, to mine, to grow and to manufacture, and all of that is happening right there in Southeast Iowa.
We are so proud to be home to your new plant. And it's all because of you, Mr. President. Thank you.
Well, thank you very much. And you have been my friend for a long time --
Thank you.
And I appreciate it. And a young lady's going to be hopefully elected to the Senate. And she's outstanding, one of the top anywhere in the country. They talk about her all the time. They all respect Ashley Hinson, and they respect her, like, really maybe nobody else. And I think I hear you're doing well.
I hope you're doing well.
Yes, sir. Well, thank you so much.
But you're doing -- you're doing a fantastic job.
We're working hard and appreciate your agenda. And as Joni and Kim just said, you know, we -- we appreciate this investment in American manufacturing because Iowa does a lot of things really, really well. We feed and fuel the world, and now we're going to continue to be a part of a -- the American manufacturing story.
And with 1,700 jobs, I just think about the countless opportunities for Iowa families and what this means for them. It is a game-changer for our state and, frankly, for the country. And if you look at the jobs numbers that you've been posting every single month, they're not government growth jobs, they're private sector jobs.
And that is what is so critical for our economy, to move our economy forward. The working families tax cuts, the certainty that we provided families, I think we should make those all permanent because people love them, and we need to make sure that they can rely on those going forward, Mr. President. So, thank you for what you and the entire team did to solidify this investment in American greatness and American manufacturing.
Well -- and I'm going to come to Iowa. I got more votes than anybody in history during the last election. All three I went up, up, up, and I think I'm more popular now than I was then, which is a year and a half ago. I will say that we're going to do a great rally and we'll all be there together. We have to get you all elected, so we're going to do it there.
We'll save you a good Iowa pork chop, sir.
That'll be -- [Laughter] That's one of the reasons I want to go. So, Mariannette, please say a few words.
Mr. President, thank you so much. Want to thank your leadership and your policies. This announcement would not happen today without that leadership and those policies being in place. Southeast Iowa, my district, has long had jobs leave, go overseas. It's heartbreaking when you're in those communities day after day.
So, to see the largest steel mill in America being built in Iowa and in Southeast Iowa, 1,700 permanent jobs, 6,000 construction jobs, average salary of $49, these are families that can make over $100,000. So, it's just transformational in this area. And also the natural gas pipeline that's going to come.
Yeah.
We've lost business opportunities there because we couldn't deliver the energy that we needed. So, we're going to mine it in America, we're going to mill it in America, and we're going to make it in America. Thank you, Mr. President.
Thank you, Mariannette. Appreciate it.
I'm ready to start the cheer here. [Laughter] That's right. I'm ready.
Go Iowa.
Yeah.
Well, I would just say that, Mr. President, thank you for your leadership, bringing American steel jobs back to America and to the heart of the heartland in Iowa. These are good-paying, family supporting steelworker jobs. And so proud, as an Iowan, that you chose our state to invest in. And, Mr. President, without your leadership, this would not have happened.
We are so thankful for American steel to be made in America. And as an Iowan, I'm so proud that we're making it in Iowa. Thank you.
Yeah.
Well, you have the best people. You have incredible people. And you're going to find that. You're going to have some of the greatest employees. They're all over the world, and you don't get bigger, but you'll find that Iowa -- the people in Iowa are going to be the best people you've ever had to work with.
They're unbelievable.
I'm sure about that. Thank you, sir.
It's a great honor.
Thank you, sir.
Any questions?
Mr. President? Mr. President, thank you so much. Will you have a lot of upcoming Republican rallies? You are heading to Oklahoma. You're heading to Alabama, Ohio. What is your message to voters heading into the midterms?
We have great people, and we're running against communist lunatics, socialists. We're running against people that are going to open up the water. We have -- we have a border, it just came out, 17 months in a row we have no people coming in, zero, which is hard to believe even, but that's what it is. I don't put out the numbers.
And we have a strong border. We have the best economy, the biggest investment in the history of our country. Think of that. $21 trillion is being invested. With China, it's $3 trillion. With Biden from the last --it was a half a trillion. For four years, it would have been negative. We're at $21 trillion, the biggest amount in history.
And that money's building plants, like today as an example. I don't even think -- this number is a big number, 18 -- $18 billion. I don't even think we're including that number, but we have $21 trillion being invested in our country. We have the highest number of jobs in the history of the United States of America.
We have the best crime numbers in the history of our country, despite the fact that they allowed 25 million people, many of whom were criminals, into our country. We have the best murder -- it's not a nice thing to say, but the murders are lower than at any time since 1900. So, we have the best crime numbers.
We have the best economic numbers. We have -- Iran will never have a nuclear weapon. We're going to win that war. Very soon that'll be over and the gasses -- gas prices will come tumbling down. So, nobody else could have done that, nobody else. If the Democrats took in, the border will be opened immediately and you have millions of people pouring through just like it was before.
It's the most horrible thing I've ever seen. Yeah, please, Daniel?
Two questions on the steel if that's ok. Why is it so important for you to establish a fully integrated American supply chain for raw materials, steel, iron, specifically from a national security perspective?
What?
Why is it so important?
Well, because we have a military that's very powerful, and there are certain products you have to make. Steel is one of them. You need it for your planes, your Army tanks. You need it -- you know, we have a lot of problems -- we have a lot of -- a lot of things we don't have to make ourselves. But when it comes to national security, I would say steel is number one on your list.
Steel, aluminum, big aluminum plant coming, I told you, big one, beautiful, great people also. But if we don't make it ourselves, we don't really -- we -- we can't defend ourselves. We can't call up another nation saying we want to build 2,000 Army tanks and we have no steel. Could we get some? We'll call China.
Do you mind giving us some steel to build Army tanks? I don't think -- that doesn't work out. By the way, we had a great meeting with President Xi. I would say I would rate it as a -- on the scale of 0 to 10, I would rate it a 12. Very respectful, very good -- great meeting. So, you know, steel in particular but other things too, we want to make them.
Medicine coming back. They're all coming back. Hundreds of billions of dollars of plants are being built. Eli Lilly is spending billions. Merck, Pfizer, they're all coming back. And we learned that during COVID. We didn't make anything. Now we're making it all. They're all coming back at record numbers. So, thank you for the question, Daniel.
Mr. President? Mr. President? Mr. President, just back on the steel project, are -- is there any federal money going to it? And is it a done deal or is it contingent on certain tax breaks within Iowa?
Yeah, it's a deal where we're doing very little. We're just -- it's a great site. It's very important. It's a phenomenal site and it's phenomenal people they're going to have. That's the biggest thing. Howard, do you want to answer that question, or -- or either of you guys?
Sure. So, my partner, the chairman of EXIM Bank, they helped finance the mine, right, to produce that. But then these gentlemen from Essar, they are going to build the plant. So, it's private money is going to build the steel plant. But EXIM Bank drove and assisted in the mine portion of it, but helped launch that project.
Is it contingent on tax breaks within Iowa?
No, I think this deal's done. This deal is done. They've already worked it out. That's why we're all together with the president. The president doesn't bring people together unless it's a done deal. You guys know that.
They've already started building. And you're talking about a -- you know, think of it, if you build a $10 million building, it's big. $50 million is quite big. $500 million is really big. $18 billion, they're spending from outside money and all from the highest sources, the most respected people anywhere in the world.
It's pretty amazing.
Mr. President, two questions, one on Iran and then one on Iowa. I'll start with Iowa, though. Sir, you won Iowa by 13 points. Some of the polling, though, for some of the races right now in the Senate and also some of the House races, a little closer, much closer, in fact. Why do Republicans, do you think, having to work so hard to hold on to these seats?
I don't know. I love Iowa. I've always been very strong with Iowa. There's been some things that the Democrats have done that are very bad for our country. You know, they had high prices. I've reduced the prices but they like to say affordability, but they're the ones that cause the affordability problem.
They're the ones that caused all of these problems, and they were unwilling to stop Iran from having a nuclear weapon. They said, let somebody [inaudible] of course, I could say that about many people. We have stopped them from having a -- they'll never have a nuclear weapon, and they understand that, and they're willing to say that.
But, um, I'm surprised. First of all, the polls are fake. But, uh, when you see somebody like Ashley, one of the greatest politicians, you'll see it, one of the greatest -- she'll be one of the greatest politicians in America, going to be highly respected and she is highly respected. She's going to be representing Iowa in the Senate.
She's going to bring back a lot of money for Iowa. You know, Iowa is a -- is a state that likes money coming back into it. If you put these people in there, you're not going to bring back any money. These people all, every one of them, they bring a lot of money back to Iowa that helps with ethanol and other things, many other things.
And I know Ashley well, and she will be a tremendous success as a Senator. She's going to bring a lot of goodies back to Iowa, which Iowa needs. Uh, I think the polls are inaccurate because I won it by so much, and it doesn't make sense that they wouldn't be right up there with me.
And really quickly, sir, on the arrests in the UK, there's five suspects that were arrested. They were just released on bail. What's your reaction to that and is this connected to Iran?
Might be, but I will tell you, I would have said, don't let them have bail, cashless bail. I wonder, is it cashless bail, I guess? That was one of the problems that we had, which started the whole mess of crime and we're ending cashless bail. But over there, I'm surprised that they released them. I wouldn't have done that.
Look, they've been very good. They worked with us very closely. Uh, we know everything about them we would not have released them.
So you said might be. Iran might be. Can you elaborate on that at all?
I'd rather not. I mean, I know the answer, I can be very specific, but I'd rather not say. But I would not have released them.
Has your team spoken to Iran today?
Yeah, they have.
They have, for mediators?
Yeah.
Anything else you can share? What -- any movement on the Iran talks?
No, we're going to win. As far as I'm concerned, it's going to be one way or the other. It's going to be -- it's going to go pretty quickly.
Two questions for you, Mr. President, one on this announcement and one on the state visit that you had last week. On this announcement, last year you also announced that there will be a steel plant that will be set up in southern Louisiana. Here, you have this steel plant that's being set up in Iowa. Is there any concern that these deals may go away if there's a change in the House or the Senate or a change in the person who occupies the White House?
No, because we've given them documents that will, you know, really won't matter who's in office. You have to do that. They're putting up $18 billion. You know, if I'm not here and somebody less friendly is going to be here, that person that's less friendly will have no choice but to allow them to build. They will -- You know, they're very -- they're great businessmen, among the best in the world.
They're not going to be putting up with that. So they have guarantees that what they bargain for, to put up all of that money, all of that tremendous wealth, uh, it'll be 100 percent.
And then on the state visit, yesterday on Fox News Sunday, Ambassador to China, uh, Perdue said that you suggested to President Xi that the US would sell US military equipment to China. Is that accurate? Did you make such a suggestion?
To China?
To China, yes.
You mean to Taiwan?
No, to China. That's what he said.
I never heard of that one. I'm going to have to ask him. You mean, we're going to sell -- no, they'd probably like to buy it because we do make better equipment than that, so maybe it's a good idea, but we didn't discuss it.
Mr. President? Mr. President?
He may have been talking about Taiwan. I think he probably was talking about Taiwan.
Mr. President, two questions, one for the investors. I would like to know if in this project, as you know, Africa is a very rich continent that can pretty much supply things for this project. Are you considering to import some of the materials for this project from any African country like Congo and Angola can also pretty much supply?
Absolutely. Most of the critical materials that are required for this project will be sourced from America itself, within the US. There are some materials, like manganese, that may need to be imported for making and refining the highest quality steel, so that is something that is not necessarily available in the US and.
so we would be looking at global sourcing for those [inaudible] there.
So Africa is one of them?
It is absolutely possible.
And Mr. President, on --
She loves Africa. She always asks about it. She never talks about any other place. That's the way it should be, right?
Yes.
Good job.
Mr. President, another question on DRC, Rwanda. You, among many other administrations, so for the last four administration, you're the only one who start doing something to end the war, 30 years war in DRC, Congo.
That's right.
So you did already your part. You bring both President, President Kagame, President Tshisekedi to the White House. They signed the peace agreement.
Right.
But Rwanda still violating. Are you planning to take serious action?
Yeah. We're going to stop it if there is a violation. We know about it. We ended the war with Congo and Rwanda, and they both signed and they both agreed. So we'll look. I just heard about it a little while ago. We're going to -- if there's a problem, we'll stop it.
Mr. President, I just came from DRC. I was there a month ago and I witnessed, again, Rwanda still killing a lot of Congolese, Mr. President. If you can do something --
And you witnessed it?
Yes, Mr. President, and I have evidence that I can show --
How is Ebola -- how is Ebola doing?
Ebola is under control. I spoke with the world -- director of the World Health Organization during the UN, and he says it's under control, but still, the country needs some help to fight Ebola. But the biggest problem is the war.
I'll make sure it works out. That's what I do, I make sure things work out. Good job you're doing.
I want to ask you about this project, as well as Canadian trade, if I could. On this project, the production is 2030. When could we see significant jobs for this production?
I think immediately, because they're going to start construction right away.
6,000 construction jobs.
You're going to have a lot of construction jobs. This is a massive plant and 6,000 jobs in that area. It's a great area of Iowa, but it's been sort of left behind for a lot of wrong reasons, right? So I think they're going to have at least 6,000 construction jobs almost immediately.
And on Canadian trade, tomorrow you're going to have a ban of certain items coming from Canada into the United States. Can you still have a trade deal or an agreement with Canada, or could more items be added to that list?
Well, they want to have a deal with us. They call us all the time. The problem is that they've treated the United States very unfairly. They have been one of the worst countries in the entire world. You know, we get along with China, we get along with people, we make good deals but Canada has been really very difficult to deal with, actually.
They've charged our farmers 400 percent tariffs and more and they take advantage of us. They feel entitled. And, you know, they get 95 percent -- 95 percent of the business they do, they do with the United States. With us, it's a tiny fraction of that number. It's not a big number at all. And yet, uh, you know, we give them military, we give them icebreakers.
They want icebreakers. We work with them. We buy icebreakers. We have a lot of -- we have 11 of them right now under construction. And they want to know if they can use our icebreakers, so many things, and they feel entitled. And, you know, they're not a state. Uh, there's nothing they have that we need.
We have more energy than they have. We have all the lumber you could possibly use. We have everything we have. We don't need, and they have to treat our country with respect. They've been very, very bad to our farmers in particular.
So how do you get them to --
Would you say that's true, Peter, you want to say something?
Absolutely right, aluminum, farming. Dairy is a crazy, triple digits on the dairy tariffs. And the problem we've had, sir, is --
Those tariffs are as high as like 400 percent sometimes. Peter, go ahead. Sorry.
Yeah, it's just -- I go back to the first term sir dealing with the Canadians, they were the most difficult and arrogant of the traders. It's like the Canadian people are wonderful, but they cheat us on just about everything they can, lumber, aluminum, steel, dairy, down the list. And then they -- the worst part now is they're getting in bed with China, trying to play China against us and they're giving away the country, and they like to beat up on Donald Trump.
I think politically that works. And the only people who get hurt by that is the people of Canada.
And many, many people are going into Canada right now from other parts of the world, and it's not a good situation. They're coming in totally unchecked, totally unvetted. I don't know where Canada is going.
So, Mr. President, how does how does this end? How does this end, Mr. President?
I think what's going to happen is, over the next three or four weeks, they're going to come to us and they're going to say we're going to get rid of all the tariffs. We're going to win everything. We even have -- Lake Ontario is now Lake America. And that's been done. By the way, it actually just got done.
They told me it was just completed. But they're going to come in, and they're going to say, sir, we are sorry. They've treated the United States very, very badly. I think a deal will be made, but it's going to be a fair deal.
[Crosstalk]
Mr. President, the midterm elections less than four weeks away.
Yeah.
Should motorists, should truckers expect elevated gas and diesel prices between now and then?
When the war ends, two things are going to happen. Number -- the one thing already has happened. It's Iran will never have a nuclear weapon. That's a very big thing, because if you want to see turmoil and a travesty, let them take out a city with a nuclear weapon. I'm not only talking about Israel and -- and big parts of the Middle East, but let them hit us with a nuclear weapon, for all those stupid people that think it's ok. I deal with them, and they are crazy.
There's no question about it. They are very crazy people. I tell them that all the time. I said you're crazy, man. But they cannot have a nuclear weapon, and they don't. So, that's very, very important that we have a situation that -- this is something that should have been done for many years by many presidents or other countries.
It doesn't have to be us. But we're the -- we're the most powerful country in the world by far. We have the best military equipment in the world. And by the way, we're building more equipment now than at any time in the history of our country. We have no choice. But to do that, the great defense companies are opening up. I mean, Lockheed's building five.
Raytheon's building many. They're all building a lot. We have more equipment coming now than at any time in the history of our country, and it'll soon really start to come because these plants are going to start to open. But we're doing well. Look, as a country, we're doing really well. The -- the press is not -- nobody hears that we have more people working today than at any time in our country's history.
Nobody hears we have the best poverty numbers in history. We have the best poverty, meaning the lowest. We have the best poverty numbers. Nobody hears that individuals are making more money per capita per individual than at any time. Nobody hears about your 401(k). So, we've had 82 record stock office -- stock days on all the exchanges, 82 in a little more than a year and a half, and people don't hear that.
Nobody hears that your 401(k)s -- you mostly have 401(k)s, right? Check your 401(k)s. You're up double in one year and nobody talks about that. Nobody talks about the border. I can't even talk about it. My people say sir, nobody cares about the border. I got elected because of the border. And now because it's so good, my -- one of my people, who's fantastic, said, sir, the people don't care about the border anymore.
When I got elected, I got elected very much on the border, a lot of other reasons, too, inflation. They had the worst inflation in history. The inflation's coming way down. And when you see what happens -- as soon as that war ends, inflation's going to be eradicated totally. But nobody talks about that. Gas is going to go way down.
And it's already -- you know, if -- if you look -- I think, Peter, this is 100 percent. So, we wiped out Iran's military. We wiped out just about everything they have. And nobody talks about the fact that Iran will never have a nuclear weapon. Nobody talks about the fact that we had the worst inflation in history.
Nobody talks about the fact that Biden play -- paid -- you were paying much more for gasoline. Let's not talk about all these -- you know, everything. Under Biden, you paid much more for gasoline than they're paying now. And what I did is I went to war to stop the -- one of -- it could be one of the worst things that could ever happen to the world, to us but to the world.
Israel would be wiped out right now. There would be no Israel. There'd be no Middle East. And then the rockets and the bombs would start coming our way and Europe's way, and I stopped it. And this gentleman who's spending $18 billion in Iowa, he would say I'm going to take a pass on the United States. I'm not going to spend 18 -- because we would have had a lunatic and a lunatic country running -- running around with nuclear weapons because the power is so great.
But nobody talks about it. Nobody talks about all of the incredible things. Again, you have -- many of you have -- I don't want to ask because you'll say, oh, we're not supposed to report that. We're the -- we're the fake news media. We're not allowed to report it. You all have 401(k)s. I don't have to know anything about you.
Your 401(k) has doubled in a short period of time. It's doubled. You're twice as wealthy as you were a short time ago, every one of you. And that's because of me. Have a good time, everybody.
[Crosstalk]
Thank you, guys. Thank you. Thank you.