Team,
In case you missed it, this is my recent presentation to press in front of the White House, announcing that the former Secretary of State’s Office in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building has been renamed in honor of Henry Clay on the occasion of his 249th birthday.
Clay was Speaker of the House, a Senator, and Secretary of State.
The War of 1812, when the British tried to burn down the White House, was a wake-up call for Henry Clay that a domestic industrial base and domestic supply chains are essential to a nation and its security.
Clay put in place the American System and was a firm believer in tariffs to bring manufacturing to the U.S. and keep it onshore. He is one of our first economic nationalists, alongside fellow tariff men Alexander Hamilton, Abraham Lincoln, and William McKinley.
This is very special to me, and I want America to know that we are celebrating one of the greatest Americans who ever lived—a champion of the working men and women of our nation and our industrial base.
Peter
TRANSCRIPT
DR. NAVARRO: Announcement today. I want to show you this picture here. These are four of the greatest Americans we’ve ever had. They were the first economic nationalists, and it started with Alexander Hamilton. The person we’re celebrating today is Henry Clay. Abe Lincoln and William McKinley. These are the big four of tariff and trade policy for the Administration. And I’m so pleased to announce that a room over here in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building has been renamed in honor of Henry Clay’s 249th birthday. He was the former Speaker of the House. He was a Senator. He was also the Secretary of State. But this is very special to me. If you look over here, if you ever get the opportunity in the East Wing underneath there [points to White House], there’s actually a spot. I can’t verify this, but it looks like where bullets were fired and hit the building during the War of 1812 when the British tried to burn down the White House. And that was a wake-up call for Henry Clay. He developed something called the American System. And it was the epiphany for Clay that when the British came and tried to take back this country from America, he realized that if you did not have a domestic industrial base and supply chains, that you really wouldn’t have a country. So, he put in place this thing called the American System. Like Lincoln, like McKinley after him, like Alexander Hamilton, Clay was a firm believer in tariffs to bring our manufacturing here and keep it onshore. And also tax policies that favored American manufacturing. So, he’s a great American. So, as I said, 249th birthday. We have a new room over there. I’m happy to, if you contact my office, take you on a tour of this room. And again, that’s all I’ve got to say on this. But I just wanted America to know that we are celebrating, today, one of the greatest Americans that ever lived who supported the working men and women of this country and the industrial base. And with that, I will bid you adieu. Thank you.
