President Donald Trump announced a new submarine repair center in Cleveland, Ohio, as he tries to underscore his record in the battleground state less than a month before Election Day.
“I’m … pleased to announce that the Department of War has officially selected the new home of the U.S. Submarine Component Repair Center, a big deal that everybody wanted, and it’s going to be right here in Ohio, in Cleveland, Ohio,” Trump told a crowd in Youngstown, Ohio, on Monday. “Big deal.”
Trump, who was in Ohio to support the likes of Sen. Jon Husted (R-OH) and embattled Rep. Max Miller (R-OH), in addition to Republican gubernatorial nominee Vivek Ramaswamy, described how the “massive” 46,000-square-foot facility will “manufacture, repair, and maintain key parts for virtually all new and existing submarines.”
“You have to really thank Sen. Jon Husted for this more than probably anybody else,” the president said.
He added, “Look at that jawline. I’m telling you, I never saw that. I never studied him. Now I study him.”
Trump’s announcement during his second trip to Ohio in two weeks was prompted by an August presidential memorandum directing administration officials to identify a suitable location for the component repair center within 90 days.
Trump on Monday also announced that, after he was advised by Husted and Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH) that a steam-powered heat utility facility that provides heating for 24 major buildings in Youngstown was “in danger of shutting down as we enter the cold season,” he is directing the departments of Energy and Commerce to “work with your senators to find a quick solution and make sure it doesn’t shut down.”
“It’s going to stay open, and you’re going to stay nice and warm during the winter,” he said.
Monday’s announcements come after a flurry of similar proclamations from Trump regarding other battleground states, including a claim that South Korea has committed to spending $200 billion on U.S. energy infrastructure projects, including $50 billion on the Alaska liquefied natural gas project.
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Two days after Trump made the Alaska LNG project announcement, which South Korea has disputed, the president announced that Indian-owned Mesabi Metallics will invest $15 billion to build what will be the country’s largest steel mill, with production starting in 2030.
Monday’s announcements coincide with Husted and Ramaswamy being in statistical ties with their Democratic opponents, former Sen. Sherrod Brown and Dr. Amy Acton, respectively, according to RealClearPolitics polling averages.