Even though Scott Walker and Donald Trump displayed a lot of animosity towards each other in the presidential campaign, Trump came to Wisconsin on Tuesday to help Walker in a fundraiser for his gubernatorial bid in 2018. As the gentle reader might imagine, it was not an event aimed at the common working person:
It is reported that Walker raised $1 million from the event but you could never tell that by listening to Trump:
Trump told guests the event raised $1.5 million for Walker’s next gubernatorial campaign in 2018, according to one attendee. However, that figure was not confirmed.
“That sounded high and seemed to grow throughout the night,” the source said. “It was definitely over a million.”
But don't worry, Trump didn't spend a dime of his own money to come for the event. Instead, he stuck taxpayers with the bill by making it an "official visit" by stopping at the Waukesha County Technical College to promote a job training program.
Odd thing about that is that has been one of Walker's major talking points for years, claiming that it would create all these good paying jobs. However, despite all of Walker's crowing about this plan, 2016 was the worst year for job creation as long as Walker has been governor:
Wisconsin added just 11,590 private sector jobs in 2016, good for a growth rate of 0.5 percent according to data released Friday by the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development.
Those numbers mark the slowest job growth of any year since Gov. Scott Walker (R-Wisconsin) took office, and is based on data that comes from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW).
Gov. Walker has referred to the QCEW numbers as the most accurate data available in the past, because it is based on survey of 96 percent of all employers in the state.
Contributing to the slower growth in 2016 was a decline in manufacturing jobs. Wisconsin suffered a loss of 3,776 jobs in the state's second-largest industry.
On top of that, the average salary had dropped another 0.6%, shrinking the middle class even further. Walker tried to explain it all away by blaming the workers, claiming that they are all unqualified. In reality, many workers are qualified for the jobs, but don't want to do them for a fraction of the going market wages.
Trump also bragged that Wisconsin may soon see bigly news as a "major manufacturer of electronics was considering opening a plant in Wisconsin. Good news, right?
Not so much in reality (emphasis mine):
A Taiwanese company that assembles Apple’s iPhones and other electronics is considering building a plant in Wisconsin that could employ thousands of people and give Gov. Scott Walker a huge political boost as he prepares to run for re-election.
A person with direct knowledge of the negotiations who was not authorized to speak publicly confirmed to The Associated Press on Wednesday that the state is in talks with Foxconn. At least one other upper Midwest state, Michigan, is also pursuing the plant.
President Donald Trump alluded to negotiations with an unspecified company during a visit to Milwaukee on Tuesday, saying Walker might get “a very happy surprise very soon.” Trump said “we were negotiating with a major, major incredible manufacturer of phones and computers and televisions.”
Foxconn assembles smartphones and other devices for Apple, Sony, Blackberry and other brands — mostly in China, where its plants employ about 1 million people. It has been the subject of complaints for years about its labor practices and worker suicides at plants in China that manufacture Apple products.
They sound nice. Who wouldn't want a job that will drive you to suicide?
I wonder if, at some time during the day, Walker and Trump had a chance for a nice chat about how to deal with major investigations into their corruption and how to legalize said corruption?
One other point that stood out about the day. Sheriff David Clarke, who was one of Trump's loudest supporters and who claimed to be taking a job in Trump's Homeland Security (even though it's never been confirmed) was no where to be seen during the day. Even Clarke's twitter account was oddly silent for the last two days? Could it be that Clarke's big mouth cost him the job offer and now his fee fees are hurt? Or could it be that Clarke was just lying his ass off all along? Or did Walker and/or Trump tell him not to bother showing up? Inquiring minds want to know.
