President Donald Trump called on more defense contractors to partner with the U.S. and “do magnets” – a request that comes after a venture capital firm linked to his son, Donald Trump Jr., took a stake in a rare-earth magnet manufacturing start-up.
At the Defense and Power Summit in Pennsylvania Wednesday, the president took a momentary detour from acknowledging defense manufacturing to call for more magnet production.
“I hope you’re going to do magnets,” Trump said. “Somebody out there, I hope you’re all brilliant people. Magnets. Do magnets, ok.”
“I’ll tell you how to make money: Do magnets,” he added, while insisting the U.S. had the materials to create more magnets.
The president’s plea for magnets comes after reporting from ProPublica claimed the administration gave a lucrative deal preferentially to Vulcan Elements, a rare earth magnet startup, which also recently received backing from 1789 Capital, where Donald Trump Jr. is a partner.
According to the report, Peter Navarro, a senior adviser to Trump, personally helped Vulcan Elements obtain a $620 million deal with the Pentagon – roughly three months after 1789 Capital invested in it.
The White House previously denied reports suggesting the president gave a company linked to his son preferential treatment.
“The President’s entire team, including Senior Counselor Navarro and officials at the Department of War, is working together and with private industry to secure America’s critical mineral supply chain at Trump Speed,” Anna Kelly, the White House principal deputy press secretary, said.
Both the Pentagon and Donald Trump Jr. told ProPublica that the president’s son played no role in the deal. Vulcan Elements’ founders also told reporters that the company received no political favoritism.
Navarro called ProPublica’s story ”fake news on steroids” after it was published.
However, Navarro’s reported influence on the deal between Vulcan Elements and the Pentagon sparked concern from Democratic lawmakers who asked White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles to explain what they called “an egregious example of Trump administration corruption”
A recent analysis from the Washington Post also found that the president’s older sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, have funds tied to more than a dozen defense tech companies or firms seeking business with the Pentagon or other federal agencies.
“It’s not complex, not hard. We have the material; for some reason, they just don’t do it. We need magnets,” Trump said Wednesday.
The president added: “So one of you companies, go out there. I’ll teach you how to make money. Just do it.”
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