Trump Donor Is Moving His Ohio Plant to China

Tuesday, February 17, 2026

Cue the sad trombone: Hedge fund billionaire John Paulson -- a major Trump donor and advocate of tariffs -- is shuttering his Ohio brass instrument plant and offshoring work to China, according to a new report.

Posted by Arbusto at 07:33 AM | 14 COMMENTS | permalink | Comment on This Entry |

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This is a moral failure, not a financial failure. Instead of bargaining over fair pay, Conn-Selmer decided to ship its Ohio operations to China. Hundreds of union jobs are on the chopping block so billionaires can reap more profits. UAW members are gearing up for a big fight to keep these jobs.

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-- UAW (@uaw.org) Jan 8, 2026 at 3:12 PM

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"We need to protect American jobs and protect American manufacturing,"

LOL.

Check the Epstein Files for this MAGA.

#1 | Posted by Zed at 2026-02-16 06:41 PM | Reply | Newsworthy 1

The age of consent in China is 14.

But I'm sure that has nothing to do with it!

#2 | Posted by snoofy at 2026-02-16 06:56 PM | Reply | Funny: 2

#2 - jajaja!

from the excellent article

"Robert Hines, president of UAW Local 2359 and a worker at the Conn-Selmer plant in Ohio, said Paulson's latest decision smacks of hypocrisy.

"To go publicly on CNBC to support the Trump administration's positive views on tariffs and all that stuff, and then you turn around and [say you] want to go send the work right over to China," Hines told The Guardian. "It's a slap in our face."

Overall, U.S. manufacturing jobs have declined since last spring, when he first implemented his aggressive and wide-ranging tariffs " which he promised would lead to a renaissance of blue-collar jobs, according to Reuters.

The industry shed 8,000 jobs in December, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. And since April employment in the sector has fallen by more than 70,000 to about 12.69 million as of December, marking the worst reading since March 2022."

;;
Thanks, Trumpers!!

#3 | Posted by Corky at 2026-02-16 07:01 PM | Reply | Newsworthy 2

"I am one of the white supremacist idiots that on Tuesday 5 November 2024 voted for Dummkopf Trumpf, a silver-spooned geriatric morbidly obese draft dodging swine and pedophile who has decimated the American economy and turned oligarchs into mega-oligarchs while I'm forced to shop at the Dollar Store for food."
Signed,
Any Republican Voter

#4 | Posted by C0RI0LANUS at 2026-02-16 07:26 PM | Reply | Newsworthy 2

Conn Selmer, the largest US manufacturer of brass and orchestra instruments, told the union it planned to offshore most work at its Eastlake, Ohio, plant to China by the end of June 2026, eliminating 150 jobs.

Liberation Day is the gift that keeps giving.

#5 | Posted by reinheitsgebot at 2026-02-16 07:35 PM | Reply

John Paulson is a ruthless believer in the power of markets. He made his fortune ($19B in one year) on the MBS debt crisis of 2008-2010, and his fortune comes from identifying market inefficiencies, as demonstrated in the case of his Ohio company. His actions here reveal that the entire Trumpian talking points about making American great again, bringing home jobs, helping American workers, blah blah blah are all just phony words, platitudes and pablum for his mouth-breathing supporters, some of whom now think that Der Dotard is Jesus's smarter brother and that Melania is more pure than the Blessed Virgin Mary...

#6 | Posted by catdog at 2026-02-17 08:30 AM | Reply

Brass musical instruments crafted once by American artisans in Ohio will now be made in China.

Wow.

Last century I remember being aghast at seeing a Japanese grand piano for the first time.

But is sounded and felt perfect, like a Steinway.

Yamaha pianos and other musical instruments made in Japan are world class, like Japanese symphony orchestras: The 7th

I wonder if China will also start making Harley-Davidson motorcycles for the Hell's Angels, the Outlaws, Bandidos, or the Pagans?

#7 | Posted by C0RI0LANUS at 2026-02-17 08:47 AM | Reply

-His actions here reveal that the entire Trumpian talking points about making American great again, bringing home jobs, helping American workers, blah blah blah are all just phony words, platitudes and pablum for his mouth-breathing supporters

Platitudes and pablum are what presidential candidates spew. Trump may be full of ---- but he didn't invent this concept. People believe the president has more control over the economy and jobs than they actually do.

THAT is what is revealed here.

#8 | Posted by eberly at 2026-02-17 08:54 AM | Reply | Newsworthy 1

To go publicly on CNBC to support the Trump administration's positive views on tariffs

The tariffs were implemented to shift the tax burden from the 1% to the middle class.

The amount of $$$ this ------- is saving from the big bulls**t bill dwarfs anything the tariffs will steal out of the middle classes wallets.

The cost of the tariffs will be passed onto the consumer so it is a no brainer to keep moving the plant overseas. Pedo47 will be gone soon and so will his tariffs, but the big bulls**t tax cuts are now permanent because senate rules no longer matter when the Guardians of Pedophiles are writing the rules.

#9 | Posted by Nixon at 2026-02-17 08:56 AM | Reply | Newsworthy 1

Brass musical instruments crafted once by American artisans in Ohio will now be made in China.

How soon until it is discovered levels of contamination in the metals that are poisoning the users?

#10 | Posted by Nixon at 2026-02-17 08:58 AM | Reply

I was a hobbyist luthier for years... making pocket money now and then from fixing up old guitars and selling or giving them away to beginners... and a few collectors... when I got lucky.

The thing is now... especially post-pandemic...

Asian made guitars are amazing at all price points. The market is saturated quality instruments and great prices for Yankees who like all things new and shiny...

It's like so many post-war delusions... where we believed that the post-war industrialized nations... that once ruled global economics could only create cheap substitutes...

They were rising from the ashes of a war-trashed infrastructure. It took them a few decades to get back on their feet... is all.

#11 | Posted by RightisTrite at 2026-02-17 09:17 AM | Reply

It truly is ironic that this man is ruining hundreds of American jobs for a country that is more and more like what the United States has become: a dictatorship. And the breathtaking Maoism in our own country, the perverted cult of personality surrounding Trump is Maoist too. Next year, will get propaganda posters in schools and businesses like the Maoists had?

#12 | Posted by e1g1 at 2026-02-17 10:55 AM | Reply

Just going to say in the last year my company:

- Shed about 7% of its work force (not due to AI).
- Had raw material price double in 2025 and about to double again.
- Raised prices twice (4%, followed by 9%). About to do it a 3rd time even more.
- Is facing likely lack of raw material supply in the coming year.
- Is eliminating about 12% of our business this week - cutting those customers off due to price instability, raw material supply and lower margins.
- One of our vendors cut 80% of its customers off. All vendors are demanding to know our stocking levels so they can ration supply.

The upstream impact is anyone doing machining and stamping in manufacturing is going to be impacted. There are several other areas our raw material is used in as well.

If we don't lay off 20% of our workforce this year I will be amazed. It is coming.

#13 | Posted by GalaxiePete at 2026-02-17 11:39 AM | Reply

#8 | Posted by eberly

As much of the world simply discards the US as a major trading partner, instead choosing to trade around us, I think we're eventually going to find that Trump policy had a significant effect on our economy. Just not in a good way.

The biggest winner will be China.

#14 | Posted by Whatsleft at 2026-02-17 02:01 PM | Reply