This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Washington • U.S. and Utah flags adorned a corner of the White House State Dining Room on Monday as President Donald Trump touted companies that make their products in America as part of a weeklong promotion.
While Wisconsin's Pierce Manufacturing parked a red firetruck just outside the executive mansion, Georgia's Chick-Fil-a handed out free sandwiches and Vermont Maple Syrup offered tastings, Paul Swenson, president of Sandy-based Colonial Flag, showed off flags made at his Utah business along with pictures and videos of fields of red, white and blue and large-scale U.S. flags.
U.S.-made products from all 50 states were arrayed on the South Lawn and the main floor of the White House.
Swenson's company has become a favorite of Trump's White House. Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price used the flag business as a backdrop for a speech on health-care reform in June.
"This has been a great present for our business as far as generally giving hope," Swenson said about the visit to the White House and the exposure he has received. "A lot of what we see, if nothing else, the intent of this president is to give hope for small business."
Trump signed a proclamation Monday promoting Made in America products, then promised his administration would work to make it easier to innovate and manufacture in the United States.
"We're going to end up having a level playing field," Trump said.
Trump was criticized during last year's presidential campaign for selling products that his companies had manufactured overseas.