‘America First’ Was Never Just a Slogan [OPINION]

The fools to the left and in the press who labeled President Donald Trump a white supremacist, a racist and a xenophobe for wanting to put America first look pretty stupid these days, as the coronavirus crisis continues to ease and we begin to consider just how vulnerable this country has become by making ourselves dependent on foreigners to fuel the U.S. supply chain with critical medical supplies no longer manufactured here.

Senior Trump Administration advisor Jared Kushner, appearing on Sunday on Fox News' The Next Revolution, says the viral outbreak drives home the importance of re-establishing onshore manufacturing here at home.

"I think the campaign platform that President Trump ran on in 2016, which was basically 'you have to secure your borders and you have to control your own manufacturing as a national security issue,' I think those have been totally vindicated positions from the virus and I doubt it will be easy for people to argue against them in the future," Kushner said.

Kushner says there is renewed interest in a number of industries to move to manufacture onshore again. The staggering cost of manufacturing in the U.S. has been reduced by modern technology, including robotics making onshore manufacturing, is considerably more cost-effective than when industry sought lower production costs overseas.

Trump understood and now many Americans agree that relying on foreign markets is dangerous and leaves Americans vulnerable. Reviving American manufacturing will help to revive and strengthen the American economy when all of this is over.

President Trump is set to lead the next American industrial revolution by bringing manufacturing back home and creating job opportunities for millions of Americans.

America first was never just a slogan. It was an ideal.

Barry Richard is the host of The Barry Richard Show on 1420 WBSM New Bedford. He can be heard weekdays from noon to 3 p.m. Contact him at barry@wbsm.com and follow him on Twitter @BarryJRichard58. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.