Trump Hypes ‘Magnets’ After Son’s Firm Takes Stake in Rare-Earth Magnet Company

AP Photo/Lynne Sladky

President Donald Trump urged defense contractors to “do magnets” on Wednesday, just seven weeks after ProPublica revealed that a top White House aide intervened to help secure a $620 million Pentagon loan for a rare-earth magnet startup after Donald Trump Jr.’s venture capital firm took a stake in the company.

The president made the Wednesday sales pitch, of sorts, during an appearance at the Pennsylvania Defense & Innovation Summit, speaking to an audience of some of the country’s most dominant defense industry companies.

Trump told the crowd, “I hope you’re gonna do magnets. Somebody out there, I hope — you’re all brilliant people — magnets. Do magnets, ok? I’ll tell you how to make money. Do magnets. You’re doing a lot of great stuff. Do magnets. Because one thing we don’t have, but we are getting close — but do magnets.”

According to the late May ProPublica investigation, White House senior counselor for trade and manufacturing Peter Navarro personally requested that the Pentagon approve the loan to North Carolina-based Vulcan Elements, the only funding deal among dozens under consideration that was initiated by a top White House aide. Defense officials told the outlet they were instructed to move unusually quickly after receiving the request, with one official recalling, “The call came from the White House: We have to get this done.”

Trump Jr.’s firm, 1789 Capital, had invested in Vulcan roughly three months before the Pentagon announced the loan.

The findings sparked swift backlash on Capitol Hill, with a group of Democratic lawmakers sending a letter to White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles demanding answers about the deal. The lawmakers wrote that ProPublica’s reporting “reveals a staggering level of corruption and influence peddling that superseded this process, enriching the President’s son at the expense of U.S. national security and taxpayer dollars,” while requesting information about Navarro’s involvement and whether Trump or other White House officials played a role in the Pentagon loan.

Now, the president’s Wednesday remarks weren’t the first time he’s mentioned magnets. In November, he told reporters, “Nobody knows what magnets are.” In 2024, Trump falsely claimed that magnets stop working when exposed to water, though he later hedged during a separate appearance, saying, “I don’t know what’s gonna happen,” when discussing pouring water on one.

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