Loudoun is the richest county in America. That’s due in part to the enormous amount of money the federal government spent on the War on Terror in the wake of the 9/11 attacks.

The place is replete with defense contractors, engineers, and rocket scientists. And it’s recession-proof; while the rest of the country struggled through the Great Recession, Loudoun kept sprouting up neighborhoods of McMansions, seemingly with a swimming pool in every backyard.

But Trump seems to think it’s part of the Rust Belt. Toward the end of his speech—to an atypically preppy, professional, clean-cut audience—the candidate bashed the county economy.

“You’re doing lousy over here, by the way, I hate to tell you,” he said.He then listed a number of factory closures, including Ball Corp., which was five hours away in Bristol, as far from Loudoun as you can get without leaving the state.

And he mentioned the closure of a Smithfield Foods Inc.“Anybody used to work for Smithfield?” he asked the crowd.It’s almost certain none of them did. The Smithfield plant that closed was in Hampton Roads, Virginia—three hours from Ashburn, in the southeast corner of the state.

“Stanley Furniture closed its plant,” he continued.Stanley Furniture did indeed recently close a plant, in 2014. That plant was in North Carolina.

He also mentioned the closure of a plant owned by Invista, a Koch Industries company that produces fabric and carpeting. That plant was two hours from Ashburn, and it closed eight years ago.

Interesting Sidenote:
According to 2010 data from the Association of Religion Data Archives, only 15 U.S. counties have more Muslim residents than Loudoun. And only 10 counties had a higher percentage of Muslim residents. In the years since then, Loudoun’s Muslim community has only grown, both in numbers and political clout.

Last edited by DollyLongstaff (8/03/2016 12:01 pm)