Donald Trump calls Foxconn's Wisconsin campus 'the 8th Wonder of the World'

MOUNT PLEASANT — President Donald Trump declared a $10 billion Foxconn technology campus in Racine County "the 8th Wonder of the World" during a groundbreaking ceremony in which he and Gov. Scott Walker lavished praise on each other.

"This is just the beginning," Trump said. "We have a lot of these things going in the United States, but to me this will always be the special one."

Trump called Walker "a special talent and a special person." Walker credited Trump with bringing Foxconn to Wisconsin. And the president also urged Harley-Davidson to reconsider its decision to build some of its motorcycles in Europe because of his tariffs.

"Don’t get cute with us," Trump said. "Your customers won’t be happy if they don’t."

Taiwanese manufacturer Foxconn Technology Group's investment is expected to create as many as 13,000 direct jobs, 22,000 indirect jobs and 10,000 construction jobs, though it comes with nearly $4.5 billion in state and local taxpayer incentives and initially won't produce the kind of large-screen display panels originally envisioned.

Last month an Asian trade publication reported the liquid crystal display (LCD) manufacturing facility would produce small- to mid-sized screens, rather than large-sized screens.

The company originally denied that report, but a Foxconn executive confirmed to the Milwaukee Biz Times last week that it would be building a Gen 6 plant rather than a Gen 10.5 plant. The newspaper reported that means a $1 billion glass plant employing up to 400 workers would not need to be built on the campus and that the facility would use smaller sheets of very thin glass.

But Foxconn and Walker have maintained that the company is still committed to building a $10 billion campus with up to 13,000 jobs.

Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. spokesman Mark Maley said the state is "trusting Foxconn to make the business decisions for what will produce the most successful campus."

"We trust in Foxconn," Maley said. "How they get there is really up to the company."

Rep. Dana Wachs, D-Eau Claire, a member of the WEDC board, said the state should review the Foxconn contract to ensure the change in the facility doesn't constitute a breach of the agreement. He said if there is a breach the state should take legal action.

"It’s incumbent on the governor to make sure the interests of the taxpayers are represented," Wachs said.

Republican officials at the ceremonial groundbreaking discounted concerns of critics, saying they are confident the Taiwanese company will be a major employer in southeast Wisconsin.

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, said Democratic opponents of Foxconn are focused on scoring political points against Trump and Walker.

"There are people who are against any development whatsoever," U.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman said.

Gilbert Rodriguez, 44, of Racine, an assembly line worker at the Foxconn training facility in Mount Pleasant who said workers are making between $14 an hour up to more than $50,000 for salaried employees, called the Foxconn development "the beginning of something big."

"It's exciting to know that this is coming to our community," Rodriguez said.

Trump's visit comes the same week Milwaukee-based Harley-Davidson said it would move some of its production overseas in response to European tariffs imposed in response to Trump's tariffs on foreign imports. Walker has called for the eventual elimination of tariffs, and Trump has criticized Harley-Davidson, tweeting "they surrendered, they quit!"

At a business roundtable last June in Pewaukee, Trump described the development as "a very happy surprise" for Wisconsin and Walker. Since then what is being called "Wisconn Valley" has been a political flashpoint in the upcoming fall election.

Democrats have assailed the deal as a taxpayer giveaway and decried the Republican-controlled Legislature relaxing environmental regulations for the campus.

Foxconn recently announced it would use a new technology to cut the campus water consumption in half and return virtually no wastewater to Lake Michigan.

A recent Marquette Law School Poll found 46 percent of voters don't think the Foxconn incentives were a good deal, compared with 40 percent who do. And 61 percent said it won't benefit their community, compared with 29 percent who say it will.

Walker has recently traveled to communities to highlight companies that have already received contracts to work on Wisconn Valley, including a concrete piping company in Marathon County.

The campus is expected to take four to five years to build. Once completed it is expected to make $4.26 billion in supplier purchases each year, about one-third of which will come from Wisconsin, have at least a $7 billion annual economic impact on the state and generate between $116 million and $157 million in state tax revenues a year, according to Walker's office.

Trump also attended a pair of fundraising events in Milwaukee benefiting the Republican Party and his re-election campaign. Walker, House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Janesville, and Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel attended the events, which were closed to news media coverage.

The events were held at the Pfister Hotel in downtown Milwaukee, where Trump spent a rare weeknight away from the White House.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.