'Sir, you saved our industry!' Trump claims grateful steel company execs wept before him

Former President Donald Trump said on Monday that executives and workers at American steel companies openly weep in his presence because of the tariffs he placed on Chinese steel during his presidency.

During an appearance on CNBC's "Squawk Box," the former president defended his record on trade and claimed that the tariffs he slapped on China were beneficial to American industries, so much that people in those industries purportedly become overcome with emotion to express their gratitude.

"Every person in the steel industry, when they see me, they start crying," Trump claimed. "They hugged me, they kissed me, they said, 'Sir, you saved our industry!' I put a very strong... tariff on their dumped steel, and, by the way, nothing was perfect, frankly the parents should have been higher."

Trump concluded by saying, "This saved the whole industry."

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Trump has long told stories of dubious veracity about grown men weeping before him in gratitude -- including members of the military and police officers -- for assorted actions he'd taken during his presidency.

Regardless, none of these purportedly grateful men were enough to prevent Trump from becoming the first president in American history to have been impeached on two separate occasions, as well as the first ex-president in history to get hit with 91 felony charges across four different jurisdictions.

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