Donald Trump has discovered that a Canadian company can employ Americans. Somewhere, a third-grade geography teacher is waiting for an apology.
After threatening to shut aircraft maker Bombardier out of the American market, Trump changed his tune during his Kansas visit: "But now I find out they have a presence here." The company has about 1,500 employees in Wichita. His threatened exclusion had not become an actual Bombardier ban.[1][2]
That is quite a sequence for a jobs policy. First, announce the punishment. Then, locate the jobs. Finally, announce that the jobs have been saved from the punishment you announced.
In our imaginary White House briefing, the breakthrough earns a standing ovation. An aide opens the company's website, clicks a page about its American operations, and is immediately nominated for a national security position.
"How long have they been hiding in Kansas?" the president asks.
The aide explains that Bombardier designated Wichita its U.S. headquarters in April 2022. The president requests a second investigation: why wasn't he informed that 2022 had already happened?[3]
The administration's fictional research department is subsequently expanded to include a browser tab. Officials call the investment wasteful until they learn the tab can also find out where other companies employ people. A second tab is rejected as socialism.
There is a wonderfully efficient circular economy here. A threat creates uncertainty. A discovery removes part of the threat. The removal becomes an achievement. The president gets the rescue credit, and the people being rescued supply their own emergency.
At the imaginary factory celebration, workers receive commemorative certificates thanking them for being American before anyone checked. Management is instructed to make the next sign larger. Preferably large enough to read from a campaign plane, in case the administration tries industrial policy again.
One worker asks whether his job is now secure. The official answer is that the president has personally guaranteed it, subject to the next company name sounding foreign.
Another asks whether anyone could have checked the employment figures before threatening the company. This is recorded as a hostile question. A patriotic question would have asked how the president acquired such an extraordinary ability to discover Wichita.
The real workers deserve predictable policy. They build, service, and test aircraft in an industry where plans extend beyond the next applause break. They should not have to hope their employer's About Us page reaches the Oval Office in time.
Still, the imaginary ceremony ends on an upbeat note. Trump has protected Kansas from a Canadian company by agreeing not to hurt the Canadian company employing people in Kansas.
The browser tab gets Employee of the Month.
Key Takeaways
- Trump backed away from a threatened Bombardier exclusion after acknowledging its Kansas operations; this was a retreat from a threat, not the repeal of an implemented Bombardier ban.[1][2]
- Bombardier's U.S. headquarters designation in Wichita dates to April 2022.[3]
- The policy criticism is straightforward: check who a proposed punishment would affect before announcing it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What did Trump say about Bombardier in Kansas?
He acknowledged the company's Kansas presence and said he would help protect the associated jobs, following his earlier threat against the Canadian aircraft maker.[1][2]
How many people does Bombardier employ in Wichita?
Reporting on the reversal puts the Wichita workforce at about 1,500 employees.[1]
Did Bombardier establish its U.S. headquarters because of this threat?
No. Bombardier's own announcement dates that designation to April 2022, years before this dispute.[3]
Receipts
- KWCH: President Trump addresses previous Bombardier comments, says Kansas employees won't be hurt - October 21, 2026
- Reuters: Trump drops threats against Canadian jet maker Bombardier, citing U.S. jobs - October 20, 2026
- Bombardier: Bombardier begins a new era in Wichita - April 19, 2022
Related: Canada Would Like Its Internet Without the Elon.
Political satire. The office scenes, ceremony, and their dialogue are invented; reported events are linked above.
