Near the beginning of his town hall event in New Hampshire on Thursday, Donald Trump brought up a man, named Mike, who said he trained his replacement when the factory closed down and moved to Mexico.
Speaking at the former Osram Sylvania Building, Trump said that the plant was closed and “139 workers went to Mexico, they also went to China.” (RELATED: Laid Off Disney Worker Endorses Trump, SLAMS Rubio [VIDEO])
The presumptive Republican nominee explained, “I want to introduce though a man that’s worked here for many years, Mike. And Mike actually had the distinct lack of honor of training people from Mexico to take his job.” (RELATED: Laid Off Disney Worker Will Tell Congress: ‘Disney Is Not An Anomaly’)
The real estate developer turned politician said that he met Mike when he asked for a photo. Trump said that Mike had a job for 29 years and “he took a large group of people, he trained them, they’re right now down in Mexico, the company moved to Mexico, he trained the people that took his job.”
When given the opportunity to have the microphone, Mike said, “I just like to say that I back Donald Trump 100 percent. America can be great again if we just give it that one good try.”
“For all it’s worth, this place used to be a place I called home, where my bread and butter was. I continue to work and prosper but however, it’s just heartbreaking… to see the jobs go to Mexico and outside the country. I like to see Donald Trump make America great again.”
After Mike finished speaking, Trump said, “Thank you, Mike and we’ll get things moving and we’ll get them changed.”
Mike’s story of having to train a foreign replacement is not unique to him. Leo Perroro, a former Disney employee has testified before congress about the “abuse” of programs like H1B.
When the Osram Sylvania plant was closed, 139 employees were laid off and the production was moved to Mexico and China.