Okay, but now you're moving the goalposts. First it was "we don’t manufacture," now it’s "we only assemble." Let’s not forget - it was the United States that invented the assembly line, revolutionizing global manufacturing.

In today’s world, assembly is a critical part of manufacturing, especially in high-tech and complex industries. Modern global supply chains are designed for efficiency and specialization, not 19th-century-style autarky. Trying to reverse that entirely isn’t just impractical - it’s economically and strategically self-defeating.

The real challenge isn’t whether we assemble or forge every bolt - it’s whether we maintain the capacity to innovate, produce, and adapt when it matters. That’s the future we should be building toward.

It’s also worth noting that the U.S. doesn’t just lead in value-added manufacturing - it dominates global finance, which is arguably even more critical in shaping the modern world. The U.S. dollar is the world’s primary reserve currency, U.S. capital markets are the deepest and most liquid, and American financial institutions are central to global investment and trade.

This financial dominance gives the U.S. enormous strategic flexibility, from funding innovation to influencing global policy. Manufacturing matters, but economic power today is multidimensional - and the U.S. still leads on many of those fronts.