Donald Trump promised his supporters that he would create 25 million jobs for them—more than any other president ever—and that his strategy would to “buy American and hire American.” So far, his job creation strategy, like his presidency, is a clusterfuck. And not even Trump Winery, a Virginia winery owned by Eric Trump, can fulfill the campaign promise. According to the Daily Progress, the winery relies on foreign workers because American citizens don’t apply for the job.
Even after all of the press for Trump, Libby Whitley, a lawyer who works with Trump Winery and other seasonal employers, said the vineyard received only a handful of applicants:
“Guess how many applicants we had? ... 13,” she said. “And they were all from places like the Philippines, Indonesia, Kenya, Nigeria. We did not have one American worker apply on [the first job order].”
Trump Winery is one of at least half a dozen local wineries that has applied for H-2A visas, a federal program that allows agricultural employers to bring in foreign workers for temporary work if they can’t fill spots with American workers. The winery is hoping to bring in 29 foreign workers for the upcoming season.
“It’s hard to find Americans to want to do these jobs,” Whitley told Charlottesville’s NBC29, explaining,“It’s not unskilled labor. It’s highly-skilled labor, but it’s manual labor.”