Did Trump help create new GM jobs? Is NBC's report 'fake news'? Here's what we know

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President-elect Donald Trump tweeted Wednesday that an NBC News article critical of him was "fake news."

The NBC report, published Tuesday, argued carmaker General Motors' decision to invest $1 billion in American manufacturing — creating thousands of jobs in the process — was not because of Trump.

"Totally biased NBC News went out of its way to say the big announcement from Ford, GM, Lockheed and others that jobs are coming back to the U.S., but had nothing to do with Trump, is more fake news," the social media-savvy president-elect said across two tweets. "Ask top CEOs of those companies for real facts. Came back because of me!" 

Evan Vucci/AP

Trump's tweets prompted a number of his critics in the Twittersphere to respond: Among those crying foul were members of the media, including MSNBC producer Kyle Griffin of The Last Word, who tweeted the NBC story was "solid reporting." The tweet garnered over a thousand likes and retweets. 

In Trump's posts about NBC's reporting, he alludes to a Jan. 3 tweet in which he threatened GM with a "big border tax" if they didn't transfer jobs in Mexico to the U.S.

But according to NBC: "Several GM officials stressed that the latest moves were in the works for months and, in some cases several years, and were not a reaction to criticism by President-elect Donald Trump."

Beyond NBC, other media have reported a similar story.

GM chairperson and CEO Mary Barra told Fox News that — Trump's threats of a border tax notwithstanding — the company would not recalibrate its production strategy at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit on Jan. 9.

GM General Counsel Craig Glidden reiterated Barra's sentiment in an interview with the Wall Street Journal on Monday, as NBC noted.

David Cole, chairman emeritus of the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Michigan, recently pointed out that major decisions on investment and manufacturing operations begin with studies spanning a few years and involve extended discussions among board members — suggesting GM's wasn't a decision made in the last few weeks, according to NBC.

GM's is one of several other major announcements from U.S. corporations stating they, too, are in the process of creating jobs across the country.

Some critics suggest these promises are essentially just PR moves to curry favor with Trump, who is fixated on the narrative that he is prioritizing and reponsible for bringing back American jobs.

But, as the Wall Street Journal explains, many of these plans pre-date Trump.

Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Walmart and Amazon are two such companies who have pledged to create tens of thousands of domestic jobs — yet they would not discuss, when asked by Mic, whether Trump had anything to do with their job creation plans.

Mic reached out to GM as well as the Trump transition team but did not get a response by publication time.

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