MSNBC host Ali Velshi patronized a steel worker on his show Friday by making the assumption that he wouldn't want his son to become a steel worker.
Scott Sauritch, the president of United Steelworkers Union Local 2227, appeared on the show to discuss his support for President Donald Trump's newly announced tariffs of 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminum imports.
"So let me ask you this, Scott. You saw this trend in the 80s. You saw the imported steel was hurting the industry. I guess my question is for steel workers around America as I discussed with somebody earlier, a lot of this is technology, right?" Velshi asked. "It just takes fewer human labor hours to make a ton of steel. At some point doesn't it make more sense to start to transition. You don't want your son being a steel worker I assume."
Sauritch said his son actually just got hired by U.S. Steel "not too long ago," prompting Velshi to ask him whether this bothered him, citing "fewer" steel jobs.
"If a man wants to make a good living and a good wage and a steel good benefits, the opportunity arises. Now for a young man to come in and to have job security, this tariff that is put on across the board is going to help everyone out," Sauritch said.
He went on to defend the steel industry by saying the United States doesn't want bridges built from compromised steel from China.
"There's a difference between quality and junk," Sauritch said.
Sauritch was one of the steel workers invited to speak at the White House on Thursday about his support for Trump's tariffs. He told Trump and other reporters there about his father, Herman, a former worker in the steel industry, losing his job due to increased imports.