Donald Trump slammed the head of the Steelworkers Union at Carrier after he said the president-elect "lied his a-- off" when he announced the air-conditioner maker would keep its plant and 1,100 jobs in Indiana.
Trump ripped Chuck Jones, president of United Steelworkers 1999, Wednesday on Twitter:
Jones told The Washington Post on Tuesday, despite Trump and Carrier's parent, United Technologies, saying 1,100 jobs would be saved, 550 production jobs would still go to Mexico.
"He got up there — and, for whatever reason, lied his a-- off," Jones told the Post.
Carrier said in February it was moving production at the Indianapolis plant to Mexico, costing 1,400 jobs.
United Technologies said it would invest $16 million to upgrade the factory.
In response to Trump's tweet, Jones said the president-elect "likes to feel like whatever he says is correct — and he don't like to be challenged."
"I was challenging him," he told Erin Burnett on CNN. "He wasn't listening to the part where I thanked him for saving 800 jobs.
"The only part he paid a hell of a lot of attention to is where I said I think he did wrong by promising that 1,100 some-odd jobs would remain in Indianapolis and he saved them.
"It's a falsehood," Jones said. "I think he got caught in a deal — and his way of doing it is by attacking me."
Jones told NBC News later Wednesday he was being harassed on his cellphone by Trump supporters. The calls started coming within a half hour of the president-elect's tweets.
Jones said he was not sure how the callers got his cellphone number.
"Nothing that says they're gonna kill me, but, you know, you better keep your eye on your kids," he said. "We know what car you drive. Things along those lines."
"I've been doing this job for 30 years — and I've heard everything from people who want to burn my house down, shoot me," Jones added. "So I take it with a grain of salt, and I don't put a lot of faith in that.
"I'm not concerned about it — and I'm not getting anybody involved," Jones said. "I can deal with people that makes stupid statements and move on."
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.