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The White House • July 13, 2019

Special edition: President Trump’s historic social media summit  President Donald J. Trump welcomed a group of digital communications leaders and online influencers to the White House on Thursday, where he hosted a first-of-its-kind summit on the importance of freedom of speech online. “Each of you is fulfilling a vital role in our nation: You’re challenging the media gatekeepers and the corporate censors to bring the facts straight to the American people.”   Free speech and expression are at the core of American democracy. Censorship is not. It’s unacceptable that conservative voices continue to be unfairly stifled by some of the largest, most powerful media and technology companies in the world. The President has pledged that this bias, dishonesty, discrimination, and suppression will not stand. While some in the media claim that the issue of tech bias is fake—or only anecdotal—multiple tech companies have admitted or been found to engage in selective censorship: Facebook and Twitter have repeatedly engaged in the shadow banning of conservative voices on their platforms.   In 2018, Facebook issued an apology for wrongly taking down a political ad promoting now-Sen. Marsha Blackburn’s (R-TN) campaign.   Google employees admitted to debating whether to bury news of President Trump. The White House is taking action to stand up for free expression—online and everywhere else. A digital tool launched by the Trump Administration in May drew more than 16,000 responses from Americans sharing instances of tech bias. Following this week’s summit, President Trump will soon be meeting with representatives from the major social media platforms to discuss unfair practices. President Trump is also directing his Administration to explore regulatory and legislative solutions to protect free speech, which he announced at the summit on Thursday. “You communicate directly with our citizens without having to go through the fake news filter,” the President told summit attendees. “It’s very simple. Together, you reach more people than any television broadcast network, by far. It’s not even close.” Joining the President on Thursday were Members of Congress fighting to protect free expression online—both for conservatives and for every American. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO), Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), and Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) all spoke about the importance of achieving more transparency, accountability, and freedom across online platforms. Mainstream media says “there’s no censorship in social media”—they claim it’s “all made up,” Sen. Hawley said. “You and I know that that’s not true. You and I know the truth is that the social media giants would love to shut us down, they would love to shut us up … and we can’t let them.” 🎬 Sen. Hawley says tech giants “have to quit discriminating against conservatives.” New York Post: President Trump slams tech companies for bias The White House • July 15, 2019 It’s all about ‘Made in America’ It’s Made in America Day, and President Donald J. Trump celebrated by hosting his third annual Made in America Showcase—an exhibition on the White House lawn of manufacturers from all 50 states. “Washington used to say these jobs weren’t coming back. They were wrong!” Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham tweeted this afternoon. 🎬 Watch: Handmade motorcycles straight from America’s heartland! President Trump is making sure that Americans’ own Federal Government continues to put them first, as well. Earlier today, he signed an executive order to strengthen requirements under the Buy American Act, which creates a preference for American-made goods in important Federal purchases. “The philosophy of my Administration is simple: If we can build it, grow it, or make it in the United States, we will,” he said. Businesses both big and small and from a wide range of industries showcased their incredible work at the White House today. On display were Zippo lighters made in Pennsylvania, Airstream trailers made in Ohio, Buck Knives made in Idaho, and Nokona baseball gloves made in Texas. “When we choose American-made, something truly wonderful happens: Our communities thrive and flourish, our neighborhoods bustle with commerce, our children dream bigger and bolder, and the bonds of loyalty that unite us as citizens become closer,” the President said. President Trump is ushering in a new age of American manufacturing as factories roar back to life and blue-collar workers thrive. Manufacturing job growth soared to a more than two-decade high in 2018, bringing opportunity to communities that had been left behind. The future looks even brighter: Manufacturer optimism has skyrocketed under President Trump, reaching a new record high last year. Read President Trump’s Proclamation for Made in America Day and Week. Peter Navarro: President Trump continues to deliver on his promise to 'Buy American, Hire American' President Trump takes more action to stop the surge of illegal immigration President Trump took action today to stop illegal immigrants from using meritless asylum claims as a free pass to illegally enter our country. The Administration’s new rule will make aliens ineligible for asylum if they passed through another country on their way to our border without applying for protection. These asylum-seekers will be required to demonstrate that they applied for protection in at least one country and were denied before they can obtain such status in the United States. Our asylum system has been used as a loophole by aliens to gain entry into the United States and remain here indefinitely—even though their claims are often meritless. The median asylum grant rate across all immigration courts is about 11 percent. “Until Congress can act, this interim rule will help reduce a major 'pull' factor driving irregular migration to the United States and enable DHS and DOJ to more quickly and efficiently process cases originating from the southern border, leading to fewer individuals transiting through Mexico on a dangerous journey,” Acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan said in a statement. DHS and DOJ Issue Third-Country Asylum Rule. Former top immigration official: “Here are some facts that these Democrats don’t want you to know” Photo of the Day Official White House Photo by Tia Dufour President Donald J. Trump speaks with Freeman Boatworks of Summerville, South Carolina, at the White House’s Third Annual Made In America Showcase | July 15, 2019 Vice President Pence: Congress Must Pass the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement “Leaders on both sides of the aisle in Congress have long recognized the failures of the trade deal the USMCA will replace: the North American Free Trade Agreement,” Vice President Mike Pence writes in The Washington Post. “That outdated trade deal has hurt middle-class Americans, stifled innovation and left entire communities shuttered as jobs and opportunity have moved south of the border. The USMCA will fix NAFTA’s problems and accomplish much more. And not only is the agreement a bipartisan win for the United States, it’s a win for all three countries.” Click here to read more. “What is going on in this country right now, especially on Capitol Hill, is nothing short of deceitful behavior which intentionally distorts the truth in order to win a political battle,” writes Thomas Homan, a top immigration official under both President Trump and former President Obama, in Fox News. “I saw it firsthand when I testified on Capitol Hill this past Friday, in front of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform. Aside from the six minutes I was given to read my opening statement, there was an attempt by most Democrats on that committee to silence me.” He continued: “They didn’t want to hear from me. They didn’t want the truth. They simply wanted to continue to push their false narrative about the Border Patrol and ICE.” Today, President Donald J. Trump will require Federal agencies to buy domestic iron, steel, and other materials for projects such as airports, roads, and bridges, White House Director of Trade and Manufacturing Policy Peter Navarro writes in Fox News. “Buy American federal procurement rules provide good manufacturing jobs at good wages, propelling more workers into middle-class prosperity . . . Perhaps most importantly, Buy American helps strengthen our manufacturing and defense industrial base.” “Congress has been sitting on the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, for months. A badly needed update to NAFTA, the USMCA is in danger of being talked to death by Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, despite the free trade agreement enjoying broad bipartisan support,” tax expert Ryan Ellis writes in the Washington Examiner. “USMCA would create 176,000 new jobs and permanently increase the size of our economy by $68.2 billion, or 0.35%. That’s like giving $200 to every man, woman, and child in America, every year.” President Trump's Immigration Deal with Mexico is Working “The Democrats have underestimated President Trump yet again. His bilateral immigration deal with Mexico is already proving to be far more effective than his critics had predicted,” former Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer writes in the Washington Examiner. “With Democrats in Congress still refusing to provide the necessary resources for border security despite the massive surge in illegal immigration that has taken place in recent months, Trump turned to Mexico as an unlikely partner to help get the humanitarian and national security crisis under control.” The results speak for themselves. “Thanks to Mexico’s deployment of National Guard troops to intercept migrants on their way to the U.S. border, the number of illegal immigrants apprehended at the border declined significantly in June.” Click here to read more. “Two of the country’s staunchest big tech critics are asking the Federal Trade Commission to investigate social media companies’ perceived censorship practices,” Chris White writes in The Daily Signal. “Facebook, Google, and Twitter exercise lots of influence on Americans and they also use their tools to censor some content while amplifying others,” Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Josh Hawley (R-MO) wrote in a letter Monday to the Federal Trade Commission. “U.S. factory output rose by more than expected in June on a solid gain in motor-vehicle production, suggesting American manufacturing is regaining a foothold,” Christopher Condon and Reade Pickert report for Bloomberg. “The data, coming on the heels of better-than-projected retail sales figures earlier Tuesday, add to signs the economy is holding up amid steady gains in national employment and incomes.” “The Trump administration is working on multiple fronts to investigate and combat a rising tide of anti-Semitism in America that top officials warned is spreading across the country via a network of far left, anti-Israel activists, who seek to mainstream hatred against Jews at the nation's college campuses and elsewhere,” Adam Kredo reports for The Washington Free Beacon. “In open defiance of the law, both [Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi] and [former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton] have published guides for illegal immigrants who have already been ordered deported by a judge. These guides show illegal immigrants how they can avoid lawful deportation orders,” National Border Patrol Council President Brandon Judd writes in Fox News. “Powerful people are intent on upending the rule of law. They would rather see the fabric that made our society the envy of the world torn to shreds, traded for personal power and political gain.”