President-elect Trump on Monday announced the Japanese company SoftBank Group planned to invest $100 billion in the U.S. over the next four years, touting it as a sign of global confidence in the U.S. following his election victory.
Trump was joined at his Mar-a-Lago estate by SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son, and the two said the company’s investments would focus on artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies and create 100,000 American jobs.
“He’s doing this because he feels very optimistic about our country since the election,” Trump said, calling it a “monumental demonstration of confidence in America’s future.”
Masayoshi said his confidence in the U.S. economy had “tremendously increased” following Trump’s win last month.
Trump pressed the SoftBank leader to double his investment to $200 billion on the spot. Masayoshi laughed and said he would “try to make it happen.”
The announcement is a win for Trump, who campaigned on bringing businesses back to the United States and who benefited from frustration among voters about the direction of the economy under the Biden administration.
He has threatened to impose tariffs on imports and on U.S. companies that outsource their jobs, a move that economists have warned would lead to increased prices for U.S. consumers.
