Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell took to MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” Thursday to talk about his recent overseas trip to the Far East — as well as his robust 62 percent approval rating in the state.
“It [was] about jobs. It was about trade,” he said of the trip, during which he announced the opening of a trade office in the Shanghai. “I always think that trade and economic development and cultural and economic exchange is really what binds people together.”
He said he’ll have some new announcements “soon” on agricultural exports and manufacturing jobs that will come to the state, while acknowledging that problems in China persist, including its currency exchange rate, human rights and intellectual property issues.
“But you look at the growth right now…we want to be a part of that,” he said.
Host Joe Scarborough also brought up McDonnell’s recent 62 percent approval rating, and asked what was going on in Virginia to warrant such a robust figure.
“We’re coming out of the global economic downturn, I think, better than most states, and it’s because we made some really tough decisions last year – we cut and amended our budget to the tune of about $4 billion — tough choices. The people weren’t that happy last year, I can tell you, but this year now we have a surplus, we’re going to have another surplus later this year, and we’ve started to invest in higher education and transportation, infrastructure, things that people care about. And I’m focused on jobs, unemployment’s down to 6.3 percent,” he said.
Indeed, seeking foreign investment is why he went to China, Japan and Korea recently, traveled to Europe last year, and will be opening a trade office in India and visiting Israel later this year.
“I think we’ve got to be in the game, and exporting those values of trade, commerce and education to foreign countries will help export democracy” and help lead to better international relations, he said.
