This June 16, 2015 pledge is judged primarily on Trump's first term (2017-2021). He pushed toward it with tariffs on Chinese goods, the USMCA renegotiation of NAFTA, and tax cuts billed as job creators, and manufacturing employment rose modestly before the pandemic, but the term ended in January 2021 with about 178,000 fewer manufacturing jobs and roughly 3 million fewer total jobs than at inauguration — the first net job loss over a presidency since Herbert Hoover, driven largely by the COVID-19 collapse. A large-scale return of jobs from China, Mexico, or Japan did not materialize, and second-term data through mid-2026 (including payroll declines in early 2026) shows no late fulfillment. A sustained policy push that did not deliver the promised outcome.