Remarks by President Trump in a Meeting with Governor Hutchinson of Arkansas and Governor Kelly of Kansas | Eastern North Carolina Now

Press Release:

Cabinet Room  •  Washington D.C.  •  May 20  •  4:32 P.M. EDT

    THE PRESIDENT: Well, thank you very much. It's an honor to have Asa Hutchinson, the Governor of Arkansas — we all know Asa, and he's been doing a tremendous job — and likewise, Governor Laura Kelly of Kansas, a terrific state, terrific people, hard workers. That's for sure, right? Hard workers.

    And we're going to be discussing various things. I guess everything you can imagine. And we've been doing some of these meetings with governors. Our relationship with the governors has been very strong. We've sent them everything they've needed, and we'll continue.

    I just spoke with Gretchen Whitmer. We'll be going to Michigan at the appropriate time. They have a big problem with dams breaking. You saw that. That's a big, big problem. And so we've sent the — FEMA and the Army Corps of Engineers out. And they're very good at dams. They're probably better at dams than anybody you can think of, right? The Army Corps of Engineers, they're done a fantastic job all over. And I'll be going to Michigan at some point in the not-too-distant future.

    I'm also actually going to Ford tomorrow, come to think of it. And I think they called the governor, invited the governor. So we'll be heading out. Maybe we'll do them both at the same time. I don't want to get in the way of the fix-up though, because there's a lot of water out there. It was a bad break. So we'll be taking care of that in Michigan.

    And Michigan — these are great people and great survivors — right? — when you get right down to it, Larry. They've been through a lot over the years. And now we have a lot of auto factories being built there. And a lot of good things are happening.

    States are opening up — some rapidly, safely. And we look forward to that. And I think we're going to get back. We're going to have some very good numbers, I project. I think that we will have a great transition period, which is third quarter. I think you're going to have a very good fourth quarter. I think you're going to have an incredible year. You may have something to say about that, Larry, because you just got some numbers that are quite important.

    MR. KUDLOW: Yeah.

    THE PRESIDENT: Go ahead.

    MR. KUDLOW: The Congressional Budget Office has just redone its estimates. And after a rough — a predictably rough pandemic contraction in the second quarter, they're looking for a 21 and a half percent growth rate, sir, in the third quarter.

    THE PRESIDENT: Wow. That's great.

    MR. KUDLOW: Which would actually, if it came true, would be the biggest growth quarter in American history, or since the data were compiled.

    THE PRESIDENT: I could see that happening.

    MR. KUDLOW: And in the fourth quarter, over 10 percent. And actually, they're showing 2021 now at 4.2 percent. So they've lifted their estimates. That would be a wonderful thing. It really would.

    THE PRESIDENT: Well, those are big numbers. That's — that'll be incredible. That tells you what's happening. And that's why the stock market is as good as it is –

    MR. KUDLOW: Yes.

    THE PRESIDENT: — because a lot of smart people that are projecting some very good results for this country.

    Laura, would you like to say something? We have these wonderful people right here, and they'd love to hear from you.

    Governor, please.

    GOVERNOR KELLY: I do. Thank you, Mr. President.

    THE PRESIDENT: Thank you.

    GOVERNOR KELLY: I appreciate the invitation here today. And I appreciate what your team has done for us –

    THE PRESIDENT: Thank you.

    GOVERNOR KELLY: — as we have been working our way through this pandemic and the recovery.

    You know, I think one of the most significant things that has happened was when we put out a cry for help with our meatpacking plants –

    THE PRESIDENT: Yes.

    GOVERNOR KELLY: — you sent in a CDC SWAT team that came into southwest Kansas, where we have multiple meatpacking plants, and really helped us set up the kind of system that we needed to have in place to ensure that those plants could stay in production.

    And I'm very proud to say that Kansas is one of the few, if not the only state, that did not have to actually shut down –

    THE PRESIDENT: That's right.

    GOVERNOR KELLY: — our packing plants.

    THE PRESIDENT: That's right.

    GOVERNOR KELLY: We were able to create an environment that was safe. And we were also able to provide, with your assistance and our own agencies, non-congregate living so that — because a lot of the folks who work in these meatpacking plants live with a lot of other people, and so we were able to work with our community colleges and hotels in that area –

    THE PRESIDENT: Right.

    GOVERNOR KELLY: — to provide quarantine space for folks. And that's worked out really well.

    THE PRESIDENT: And our people work very well together, I have to say. Your representatives and my representatives really worked well together. They did a good job together.

    GOVERNOR KELLY: Well, and I — I want to give a little shout-out to Senator Pat Roberts –

    THE PRESIDENT: Absolutely.

    GOVERNOR KELLY: — who, I think, was instrumental in elevating our cry for help.

    THE PRESIDENT: Right. That's true. That's true. Thank you very much. Good job.

    GOVERNOR KELLY: Thank you.

    THE PRESIDENT: Asa? Go ahead.

    GOVERNOR HUTCHINSON: Well, thank you, Mr. President. And thanks for this opportunity to be here. I've enjoyed visiting with Dr. Birx before and Larry Kudlow about the economy, but also the health side of this.

    And I want to tell you, thank you for your leadership in the food production for our country. Arkansas has 60 meat processors here in this — in the state of Arkansas. All of them are active; none of them are shut down. They're producing because we know the country depends upon that production. But your support of that industry has been critical.

    And I also want to thank you for your leadership on the economy. The message that you have that we need to get back to work and get back to business is critical, in terms of shaping the direction of our country.

    In Arkansas, we're back to work today. All of our retail stores are open.

    THE PRESIDENT: Right.

    ...

    Read the full transcript HERE.


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