President-elect Donald Trump announced Wednesday that two telecommunications companies are adding thousands of jobs to the U.S. economy.
Stepping outside his Mar-a-Lago resort home in Florida, Trump said Sprint is bringing 5,000 jobs back from overseas and that a new satellite manufacturer, OneWeb, will create 3,000 U.S. jobs.
Trump gave no details and did not say if he or his transition team had anything to do with the new jobs.
Trump has congratulated himself for the four-point rise in the U.S. Consumer Confidence Index for December, tweeting “Thanks, Donald.” But economists say consumer confidence has traditionally gone up after a new president from a different party is elected.
Obama, Trump talk on phone
Trump also told reporters President Barack Obama telephoned him Wednesday and that the two had a “very nice conversation.” Trump described their talk as being “very general.”
A minor feud erupted between Trump and Obama this week after the president said he could have beaten Trump if he had been allowed to run for a third term.
Trump tweeted “No Way” and noted that Obama personally campaigned in so-called swing states and still could not get former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton elected.
Trump said he is trying to do his best to “disregard the many inflammatory President O statements and roadblocks. Thought it was going to be a smooth transition — NOT,” he wrote in another tweet."
'Very generous'
But his press secretary, Sean Spicer, said Wednesday “both the current president and the team have been very generous with their time as far as the actual mechanics of the transition have gone and I expect them to continue to speak fairly regularly.”
When asked Wednesday for a comment on Secretary of State John Kerry's speech on Middle East peace, Trump would only say it “speaks for itself.” But he said the United Nations is not living up to its potential, saying the world body is causing problems, not solving them.
