Anthony Pratt says US jobs can make Donald Trump president again

Billionaire packaging magnate Anthony Pratt says Donald Trump can ‘100 per cent’ win next year’s US election despite the impeachment inquiry.

US President Donald Trump speaks as Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Pratt Industries chairman Anthony Pratt, centre, watch during a tour of Pratt Industries. Picture: AP

Billionaire packaging magnate Anthony Pratt says Donald Trump can “100 per cent” win next year’s US election despite the announcement of an impeachment inquiry into the President, claiming the underlying strength of the US economy will underpin his re-election efforts.

Speaking ahead of The Wall Street Journal’s annual Global Food Forum dinner in San Francisco on Wednesday and after Mr Trump opened Pratt Industries’ new $US270m ($398m) paper mill at Wapakoneta in Ohio at the weekend, Mr Pratt predicted the key element to Mr Trump’s re-election would be “jobs, jobs and jobs”.

“Yes — 100 per cent,’’ Mr Pratt told The Australian when asked if Mr Trump could be re-elected at next year’s November poll.

“The reason he will win the election is because I think he is getting credit for having policies that help the economy.

“The three most important priorities in America I believe are jobs, jobs and jobs. Well-paying jobs. America has less of a social safety net than Australia for people who don’t have a job. President Trump has created 6 million jobs. That could be 6 million more votes.”

Mr Pratt famously bet $100,000 on Mr Trump to win the last US election after watching the third presidential debate in October 2016.

Asked if he would wager on the result again, Mr Pratt replied: “Yes, I have bet $US2bn” in reference to his May 2017 pledge that his company would invest $US2bn in America over the next decade.

After the Wapakoneta investment, Mr Pratt will have spent more than $US1bn on building factories in the Midwest, including on the Valparaiso project and on corrugated box plants in Lewisburg, Ohio and Beloit, Wisconsin.

“I told the President we want to continue to invest and fulfil our pledge,’’ Mr Pratt said. “It was very gracious of him to come to our Ohio plant opening. I was fortunate to spend some time with him. He was as gracious as ever.”

Mr Pratt was assisted in getting Mr Trump to visit Ohio by his long-term partner and mother of his two children, Claudine Revere, who owns a New York catering business known as Relish Catering, which has been in business with the Trump Organisation for more than 15 years.

“Claudine has always been a source of great support to me,’’ Mr Pratt said of Ms Revere.

The Ohio mill will be known as “Revere”, which is also the middle name of Mr Pratt and Ms Revere’s two children, Lilly and Leon.

While research by UBS and Campden Wealth Research released this week showed wealthy Americans were preparing for a recession next year, and despite ongoing concerns about the impact of a trade war with China, Mr Pratt said he was not concerned about the outlook for the US ­economy.

“As Prime Minister [Scott] Morrison said, unemployment in America is at its lowest since man walked on the moon,” he said.

“I think the economy is still growing at more than 2 per cent, which is good. At Pratt Industries we are growing at least double the rate of the industry. All the hard indicators are very good in America. Which is one of the reasons I think Donald Trump will be re-elected.”

Mr Morrison used his meeting in America with Mr Trump at the weekend to encourage more US investment to help boost Australian job creation.

Mr Pratt, who called the Prime Minister the “Don Bradman of jobs” at the weekend, said the visit of Australian business leaders to the US with Mr Morrison confirmed his focus on investment and jobs in Australia.

A business round table on Saturday evening with Mr Trump and Mr Morrison was attended by Andrew Forrest, Kerry Stokes, Gina Rinehart, golfer businessman Greg Norman, Macquarie CEO Shemara Wikramanayake, BlueScope Steel CEO Mark Vassella and former CEO of Dow Chemical, Andrew Liveris.

“Scott Morrison has done a great job as treasurer and now Prime Minister of averaging 29,000 jobs a month created, which is a record. Our theme in Australia and America is the same. In both countries we have pledged $2bn for high-paying manufacturing jobs,’’ Mr Pratt said.

In August 2017, Mr Pratt pledged before then prime minister Malcolm Turnbull that he would invest $2bn to create 5000 high-paying manufacturing jobs in Australia.

“Since then in Australia we have spent $500m and in America we have spent $1bn,” he said.

“So proportionately speaking we have spent more in Australia to date. Two examples of that are a massive box factory in Truganina in Melbourne and an investment at the Tumut paper mill. We are very committed to both Australia and America.’’