Charter jobs touted by Trump were reportedly in works for years

President Trump has announced a major investment in the U.S. by Charter Communications, but some news outlets are claiming that most of this plan was in place before he took office.

On Friday, Trump made the announcement in the Oval Office flanked by Charter CEO Tom Rutledge and Texas Governor Greg Abbott, according to USA Today.

After he mentioned the company's fast turnaround from financial struggles five years ago, the president said that "Charter Communications has just committed to investing $25 billion..."

Trump posted a video of his comments and repeated the achievement on Twitter, writing, "Today, I was thrilled to announce a commitment of $25 BILLION & 20K AMERICAN JOBS over the next 4 years. THANK YOU Charter Communications!"

However, CNN Money points out that "the 20,000 jobs, at least, have been in the works for more than a year."

They are said to have been mentioned by Rutledge in 2015 as a consequence of a pending deal between Charter, Time Warner Cable, and Bright House Networks, notes USA Today.

See the president pretend to drive a truck

Reuters is also reporting that "Charter agreed in May 2016 to make significant broadband investment" in order to get government approval for the proposed merger.

In response to the controversy, Justin Venech, a Charter spokesperson, told CNN Money that the company had mentioned the jobs before but recently committed to making the hires within four years; he reportedly added that the $25 billion had not been disclosed previously.

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