After suggesting Carrier Pres.-Elect Trump “threatened” Carrier into keeping jobs in the U.S., White House Press Sec. said company executives “have to explain the decision they made.”
Asked by reporters on Thursday about Carrier’s decision to keep 1,000 jobs in the U.S. rather than move them to Mexico, Earnest twice declared Carrier executives will have to “explain” their motives:
“So there's a lot to unpack here. Ultimately, I think the executives at Carrier, if they choose to do so, will have to explain the decision that they made.”
“I think ultimately we’d have to rely on the executives at Carrier to explain why they made the decision that they did.”
Earnest repeated his call for an explanation after suggesting Carrier's decision was based on Trump’s threats that the company would lose its lucrative government contracting business:
MR. EARNEST: “Some people have speculated that it was the promise of improved -- "improved" is probably not the right word -- the promise of federal taxation policies that would benefit Carrier. Well, listen, I think it’s hard to tell at this point exactly what was driving Carrier’s decision. I’ve seen a lot of speculation
“I know there's been some speculation that Carrier was threatened based on the defense contracting business that they have with the U.S. government.”
“There's also been some reporting to indicate that Carrier's decision was actually driven not by any federal-level decisions, but by decisions that were made at the state level, potentially by the lame-duck governor of Indiana who also happens to be the Vice President-elect of the United States.”
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