Trump: I will take care of NMI

Gov. Ralph DLG Torres meets with U.S. President Donald J. Trump last Saturday during the latter’s stopover in Honolulu. (Contributed Photo)

Gov. Ralph DLG Torres met with U.S. President Donald J. Trump last Saturday during the latter’s stopover in Honolulu, Hawaii, during which he assured Torres of his support in response to the governor’s call for help regarding labor issues in the CNMI.

In a statement from the Office of the Governor last night, it quoted Trump as telling Torres: “Tell your people I will take care of the people of the CNMI.”

Besides Torres, Trump and U.S. Pacific Command officials also met with the governors of Alaska, Hawaii, American Samoa, and Guam.

According to last night’s statement, Torres said: “For the last couple of years, I have been meeting and working with key federal officials about the CW issue. This is my second face-to-face meeting with the President of the United States, and he has pledged his support to assist us in maintaining the vitality of our economy.”

Torres and his chief of staff, Matthew O. DeLeon Guerrero, also met with White House chief of staff John Kelly to lay the groundwork in addressing the CNMI’s economic needs. 

“After meeting the President, we met at length with…Kelly, who the President directed to work on the CW issue with us. The conversation was positive, as we were able to advocate for our message of economic growth on behalf of our people back home. They were very receptive to our concerns, and I thanked them for listening. I will be providing more updates as we move forward,” Torres added.

The President’s entourage includes first lady Melania Trump, Kelly, State Secretary Rex Tillerson, and other White House senior officials. Trump stayed at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Waikiki.

CNMI first lady Diann Torres, who was also invited to the White House meeting, had a chance to meet with first lady Melania Trump.

In an earlier statement, Torres said he felt honored to meet with Trump again to discuss issues surrounding the CNMI.

“…I met with the President in the Oval Office of the White House in April. The President has shown a great deal of understanding of our issues and how it affects the unique circumstances of our community. I thank him for giving us the opportunity to share our concerns,” said Torres in the statement.

Torres, who will return to the CNMI on Tuesday, remains hopeful. “We have a lot ahead of us, and that includes challenges. But I remain positive that if we continue to work together, we will find that it is easier to believe that our islands’ best days are definitely ahead,” he said in the statement.

The President’s Asia-Pacific trip includes visits to Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam, and the Philippines.

According to the Pacific News Center, Trump is scheduled to visit Tokyo, Seoul, Beijing, Hanoi, Manila, and Danang from Nov. 5 to 13.

An Associated Press story quoted Alaska Gov. Bill Walker as saying the Hawaii meeting was intended to revolve around “Pacific theater issues” affecting the governors.

Delegate Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan (Ind-MP) said in a social media post that, although the meeting is primarily intended to discuss ongoing tensions with North Korea, it would give Torres an opportunity to discuss CW-1 issues in the CNMI.

“…This meeting gives Gov. Torres another great opportunity to make our plea with the President on why a large cut to the fiscal year 2018 CW-1 cap is not helpful to the Commonwealth’s economic recovery,” said Sablan, who added that he believes that like the two previous fiscal years, the CW-1 cap must only be deducted by one—from 12,998 for fiscal year 2017 to 12,997 for fiscal year 2018.

“Meeting the President…in Honolulu is an opportune time to argue our case one more time before the Department of Homeland Security announces the new cap,” said Sablan, also pointing out that Torres’ political relationship with Trump and his “close personal friendship” with the President gives Torres a “better vantage point from which he could argue our case again.”

Torres was the first governor from the territories to endorse Trump’s presidential campaign.