Trump announces Softbank plans to invest $100bn in US projects
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President-elect vows investment will result in 100,000 new jobs despite history of jobs plans not panning out. Donald Trump claimed to have notched up the first economic success of his forthcoming second presidency on Monday by announcing a $100bn investment by the Japanese company, SoftBank, which he said would be completed during his four year presidency.
The president-elect has a history of headline-grabbing jobs announcements - not all of which pan out successfully. During Trump’s first presidency, he announced a $10bn investment by the Taiwanese electronics manufacturer, Foxxcon, that he promised would create 13,000 in Wisconsin. In the event, the company drastically scaled back its outlay and created little more than 1,000 jobs.
But on Monday, flanked by Masayoshi Son, SoftBank’s CEO, at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, Trump vowed that the fresh investment would result in 100,000 new jobs, mainly in the artificial intelligence (AI) sector. He trumpeted the move as “a monumental demonstration of confidence in America’s future” – while suggesting it had been secured as a result of his victory in last month’s presidential election.
“He [Son] is doing this because he feels very optimistic about our country since the election and many other people are also coming in with tremendous amounts of money,” said Trump, who spent the election campaign lambasting the Biden administration’s supposed failure to combat the effects of inflation, which polls indicated was a key voter concern.
