Boy howdy, isn’t it nice to see some real leadership again? Granted, President-elect (I’d argue “Acting President”) Trump isn’t yet seated at the Resolute Desk, but he’s pretty much doing the job. On Monday morning, at Mar-a-Lago (otherwise known as the Southern White House), the President-elect held a free-wheeling presser, and one of the high points of that event was the announcement of a $100 billion investment by the Japanese technology firm SoftBank – expected to create 100,000 American jobs.
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BREAKING: President Donald J. Trump joins @SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son to announce $100 billion in new U.S. investments over the next four years — creating 100,000+ new American jobs. pic.twitter.com/04eZ2h2AMe
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) December 16, 2024
In one humorous exchange, the CEO of SoftBank admitted the possibility of doubling the investment amount, referring to President Trump as a “great negotiator.“
PRESIDENT TRUMP: “I’m gonna ask him right now. Would you make it $200 billion instead of $100 billion?… Would you do that?”
Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son: “I will try to make to make it happen. He is a great negotiator!”
The art of the deal. pic.twitter.com/nu3w0jvDKe
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) December 16, 2024
The investment is reported to be focused on improving American energy and information infrastructure, as well as working with the American tech sector on AI development.
Masayoshi-san seemed very enthusiastic during the exchange, but then, Donald Trump, in his previous term, worked regularly with Japanese businesses and with the then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, with whom President Trump maintained a personal friendship.
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So, why is this a big deal?
SoftBank is near-ubiquitous in Japan. In major cities like Tokyo and Osaka, as well as in the smaller towns around the country, it seems there is a SoftBank outlet on every other street corner. They provide services to businesses and individual consumers, including mobile phones, internet access, and electricity; if you want a smartphone in Japan, SoftBank is where most people will go. They are a big, successful tech company, one of Japan’s largest, and now they are looking to expand into the United States and bring jobs with them. It’s not yet clear exactly what form the expansion will take, other than the broad statements noted above, but a private Japanese company expending $100 billion – maybe $200 billion – is significant. When I was doing a lot of work in the Land of the Rising Sun, a lot of the consultants on various projects I worked on maintained SoftBank phones for local use, as you could pay your bill or obtain service almost anywhere.
It’s an interesting deal.
On with Fox Business’ Stuart Varney, Trump-Vance Transition Spokesman Karoline Leavitt lauded the deal:
Today, President Donald J. Trump and @SoftBank will announce the company’s pledge for $100 BILLION in new investment between now and 2029 — creating 100K+ new American jobs over the same period.
It’s the “TRUMP EFFECT,” says @karolineleavitt. pic.twitter.com/IO8clXUqWr
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) December 16, 2024
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A big part of Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign was about jobs – creating American jobs and on-shoring American jobs. If this deal goes through as advertised, well, 100,000 American jobs, high-paying tech jobs at that, is nothing to sneeze at.
What was that campaign tagline again? Promises made, promises kept? And he’s not even president yet – technically. We may be in for a very interesting couple of years.
Note: Joe Biden was not available for comment. Why is he still around, anyway?
