Reigniting the American dream: Donald Trump, Dave McCormick, and Jamie Dimon unveil a massive manufacturing push in Pennsylvania
Washington Examiner · RC · trust 34/100
CARLISLE, Pennsylvania — Jamie Dimon sat on the stage with President Donald Trump , Sen. David McCormick (R-PA), Secretary of War Pete Hegseth , Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll, and investors. The CEO of JPMorgan Chase looked out at an auditorium filled with more than 1,500 people attending the inaugural Defense and Innovation Summit.
“God knows this is how you guys have ignited the American dream, and you’ve ignited security and resiliency,” Dimon said to Trump. Dimon’s unvarnished assessment is that of a man who understands that national strength is found in places like Pennsylvania , where laborers, investors, and innovators are at the heart of creating jobs and keeping the country safe.
Senator David McCormick (R-PA) leading a panel discussion with President Donald Trump at Root Hall at the Army War College Carlisle Barracks. (Photo courtesy White House)
“You reignited that arsenal of democracy that we have in this country, and it’s just critical,” he told Trump in a state that the president renamed the “ Money Belt ” after his recent visit to Mack Trucks in Allentown.
Dimon also announced a JPMorgan Chase $24 million investment package to finance Rhoads Industries’ new submarine facility and worker training programs at the Navy Yard.
Dimon’s assessment captured the energy and anticipation that centered on the commonwealth’s role as a tangible microcosm of a national rebirth — one that McCormick recognized and worked hard to showcase.
Dimon said he spent his morning at the historic Philadelphia Navy Yard, a place that built ships during the Revolutionary War and both World Wars before being left for dead and closed down.
Today, thanks to a rare alignment of local, federal, and private initiatives, Navy Yard is roaring back to life. “You now have the ships that are going to be built there by Hanwha, a Korean company, and Rhoads Industries,” Dimon shared. “They’re both adding four or 500 jobs … if they add those jobs , another 5,000 jobs will be added to support a lot of small vendors, contractors, et cetera.”
Dimon echoed what Trump and McCormick emphasized and what all the energy, artificial intelligence , robotics, and defense manufacturers believe: that the true heart of reindustrialization belongs to the young men and women walking into America’s trade schools and apprenticeship programs.
“These welders get paid while they’re in their apprenticeship. They get healthcare while they’re in apprenticeship,” Dimon said. “When they graduate, I think after 16 weeks or something like that, they make $80,000 a year. That is the American dream. They go on and buy a house, get married, have a family, et cetera.”
Dimon believes that this formula must be replicated across the country, both to secure our future and to support our allies. “My hats are off. I applaud everyone in this room who’s helping this effort,” he concluded, looking toward the stage. “There’s nothing more important for the world’s safety for our children. Mr. President, thank you.”
The setting for these remarks could not have a more fitting backdrop. McCormick’s inaugural Defense and Innovation Summit was held at the Army War College nestled in the Cumberland Valley, just west of the Susquehanna River, surrounded by the Blue Mountain range. It is home to one of the nation’s oldest military installations, a place where the foundational dust of the American Revolution settles naturally into the high-tech reality of modern defense.
For two days, military strategists, CEOs, and elected leaders gathered to focus heavily on a radical transformation in AI, advanced manufacturing, data centers, and investments in the defense sector.
The summit was spearheaded by McCormick, who pulled no punches about the commonwealth’s rightful place in this new era.
The senator repeatedly reminded the crowd that Pennsylvania is the “point of the spear” at the intersection of national security, energy independence, and advanced technology. To McCormick, the event wasn’t just about policy. It was also a showcase for Pennsylvania’s unique capacity to solve the nation’s most complex security challenges by leveraging its deep industrial roots.
“We held this summit to showcase Pennsylvania’s amazing industrial base, drive investments into the commonwealth, and position Pennsylvania as a leader in building the military of the future from shipbuilding and drones to critical minerals,” said McCormick.
Dina Powell McCormick, the president and vice chairman of Meta , as well as the wife of the senator, moderated the “Choke Points: Critical Minerals and Manufacturing Capacity” panel alongside Lockheed Martin CEO Jim Taiclet, Blackstone COO Jon Gray, Export-Import Bank President John Jovanovic, and Palantir CTO Shyam Sankar, discussing strategies for securing defense supply chains.
McCormick told the Washington Examiner that none of this would have happened were it not for Trump’s policies and his understanding of the capabilities and skill sets in the heartland.
“The summit convened more than 600 C-suite executives representing 500 companies and more than 130 booths, demonstrating an incredible gathering of Pennsylvania’s industrial and business leadership. We also had more than 30 announcements totaling nearly $10 billion in new investment, supporting 5,000 new jobs,” he said.
Walking through the academic buildings, you could see the physical manifestation of a state putting its shoulder to the wheel. Over 1,550 people were packed into Root Hall, visiting the exhibitor booths and displays as robots walked or crawled around the first floor.
It was a curated crossroads where Pennsylvania’s premier defense contractors, agile emerging startups, energy companies, and labor unions stood side by side.
Global giants, including York County-based BAE Systems and General Dynamics, shared the floor with local workforce leaders and small robotics developers, demonstrating everything from massive defense vehicles to autonomous security tools such…
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