Trump's story about veteran's comeback was not quite true
Source: Associated Press
Trumps story about veterans comeback was not quite true
By BERNARD CONDON
February 13, 2020
NEW YORK (AP) Tony Rankins, a formerly homeless, drug-addicted Army veteran, got a standing ovation at the State of the Union after President Donald Trump described how he turned his life around thanks to a construction job at a company using the administrations Opportunity Zone tax breaks targeting poor neighborhoods.
But thats not completely true.
Rankins, who indeed moved out of his car and into an apartment since landing a job refurbishing a Nashville hotel two years ago, doesnt work at a site taking advantage of the breaks and never has done so. In fact, he started that job four months before the Treasury Department published its final list of neighborhoods eligible for the breaks. And the hotel where he worked couldnt benefit even now because its an area that didnt make the cut.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Rankins said he always considered the job that launched him on his new life two years ago to be in an Opportunity Zone and was honored to be invited by the White House to the State of the Union, with a prime seat in the balcony next to Ivanka Trump.
After struggling with drug addiction, Tony lost his job, his house and his family. He was homeless. But then Tony found a construction company that invests in Opportunity Zones, the president said in his Feb. 4 speech. He is now a top tradesman, drug-free, reunited with his family.
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Read more: https://apnews.com/2722fe07cc220914f6772272e15b0c6d