President Donald Trump vowed to fight for every U.S. job, speaking to thousands of supporters and workers at Boeing’s plant in North Charleston, South Carolina.

Trump flew into South Carolina on Friday to talk about jobs and strengthening the U.S. military, a day after he dueled with an inquisitive and sometimes hostile press.

“When there is a level playing field … American workers will always, always, always win. But we don’t have a level playing field.”

Close

Trump was happy to once again take his message directly to the people, unfiltered. But this time, there were no reporters to spar with in front of cameras. Trump stood in front of a Boeing 787-10, the “Dreamliner” that will soon be sold internationally.

Trump was warmly welcomed by Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg at the South Carolina plant, which was a legacy project of former Gov. Nikki Haley, now Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations. South Carolina has been competing heavily with other states for manufacturing jobs. With a pro-business environment and a Right to Work law, it has often succeeded.

Still, Trump said there was much work to be done on the jobs front, nationally.

“We are going to fight for every last American job,” said Trump. ” Very shortly, you will have a level playing field again … America is going to start winning again.”

Trump said he will protect workers from unfair foreign competition. He also promised to see wages rise, perhaps one of the biggest challenges of the American economy. Wage levels have been fairly stagnant since 1979, according to many economists.

A key component of wage stimulation and job creation could be military spending. Trump promised the crowd he would rebuild the military and Boeing might like that.

“By the way, do you care if we use the F-18 Super Hornets?” Trump said to applause. “We are looking seriously at a big order. The problem is that Dennis is a very, very tough negotiator, but I think we may get there.”