President Donald J. Trump has some advice for residents of "upper New York" who are looking for brighter job prospects: become Cheeseheads.

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal published Wednesday, Trump said residents of "upper New York" in need of lucrative manufacturing jobs need to leave their homes behind and head for greener pastures in places such as Wisconsin, Iowa and Colorado.

His comments came in an interview largely about his goal to revitalize American manufacturing and a promise made by Apple Inc. Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook to build three big manufacturing plants in the United States.

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With Taiwanese electronics powerhouse Foxconn announcing on Wednesday that it will build a $10-billion factory in Wisconsin, Trump said it's time for people in need of jobs to move where the manufacturers are.

“You’re going to need people to work in these massive plants,” Trump told the Wall Street Journal. "I’m going to start explaining to people: When you have an area that just isn’t working like upper New York state, where people are getting very badly hurt, and then you’ll have another area 500 miles away where you can’t get people, I’m going to explain, you can leave.”

His suggestion that New Yorkers need to leave in order to get good jobs seems to contradict statements Trump made in April 2016, promising to "turn it around" in New York when it comes to employment.

"Rochester needs jobs, you're losing your jobs, you're losing your tax base," he said during a campaign stop calling state and federal regulations "sinful" for what they've done to Rochester. "You look at all the companies that are leaving and all the jobs that are being lost and they're moving to Mexico and everyplace but Rochester, and I'll turn it around, believe me. I'll turn it around for New York and I'll turn it around for Rochester."

Of course, those in "upper New York" are not unfamiliar with odd comments from politicians who hearken from New York's nether regions.

Famously, former New York City Mayor Ed Koch in 1982 made comments to Playboy magazine that effectively killed his bid to become the state's governor. After saying that living in the suburbs was "wasting your life," he responded to a question about whether sitting in a subway was also a waste of time with "As opposed to wasting time in a car? Or out in the country, wasting time in a pickup truck when you have to drive 20 miles to buy a gingham dress or a Sears Roebuck suit? This rural America thing — I'm telling you, it's a joke."

And then-state Attorney General (and later governor and even later still, "Client 9") Eliot Spitzer controversially likened upstate to Appalachia in 2006.

“If you drive from Schenectady to Niagara Falls, you’ll see an economy that is devastated," he said. "It looks like Appalachia. This is not the New York we dream of.”

But neither said the best thing for New Yorkers to do is move.

Trump's statement about moving out of state generated mixed reactions from local elected officials.

U.S. Rep. Christopher Collins, R-Clarence, one of Trump's staunchest supporters, said the statement is a reflection of New York's failings under Democratic rule.

“The president is delivering on his promises to put America First, oppose bad trade deals like TPP and to bring our manufacturing jobs home, yet upstate New York will continue to lag behind because of downstate politicians like Andrew Cuomo," Collins said in a written statement. "While managing the decline of the Empire State with gimmicks like Start-Up New York, Governor Cuomo has made us the least friendly business state in the nation and should focus on real relief for small businesses and taxpayers.”

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Cuomo spokesman Richard Azzopardi fired back at Trump, saying "we deal in facts, not fake news. The facts are unemployment has been cut nearly in half and private sector jobs are at an all-time high in New York. We may not be a swing state, but New York — 'upper' and otherwise — has every industry, every culture and everything else to offer."

He noted the unemployment rate in December 2010 was 8.4 percent, compared to 4.5 percent in June and that more than 985,000 private-sector jobs have been created in New York since the beginning of the Cuomo administration.

U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand called the comments "ignorant."

"I was stunned to hear President Trump make this insulting, out-of-touch comment about Upstate New Yorkers who work so hard and have deep pride in their home towns," she said. "As someone born and raised in ‘upper New York’ I can tell you these comments are ignorant. Instead of disrespecting New York businesses and entrepreneurs, President Trump should focus on real solutions to create good-paying jobs and help New York businesses grow and thrive."

Congresswoman Louise Slaughter, D-Fairport, echoed the sentiments.

"I proudly represent the steadfast and hard-working people of Western New York," she said. "Anyone who calls our region 'Upper New York' clearly does not know much about us. Only someone who has lived in a gold-plated tower would tell middle class families to leave their homes behind. I can assure the president that we will not be abandoning our region anytime soon."

Gates Town Supervisor Mark Assini, who on Wednesday was celebrating the announcement by Kodak Alaris that it would relocate its U.S. headquarters and other operations to Rochester Technology Park in his town, said the president's focus should be on regulatory reform, not telling people to move."

"New York's tax burden and regulatory environment have a negative impact on economic development and the cost of living," he said. "But let's work on efforts to address those issues and not ask people to leave their homes and families. I'm Gates born, Gates bred and when I die I'll be Gates dead. I'm staying in the town I love."

Bob Duffy, formerly Rochester mayor and lieutenant governor, now CEO of the Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce invited Trump and his economic team to the area to see what's really going on in upstate.

"I promise you he would come away impressed," he said. "New York and upstate, like any region of the country will always have areas to improve, but we have made tremendous gains in the last several years."

He credited Gov. Cuomo's investments in revitalization efforts as well as the contributions of area businesses, colleges and universities.

"We are a hotbed of technology, innovation and manufacturing and specifically advanced manufacturing," he said. "Our jobs are not leaving and quite frankly we are having a difficult time filling all of our jobs. One of the biggest challenges we have is getting our workforce prepared because our companies are growing and our job opportunities are consistently growing."

U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer also came to New York's defense.

"I travel to every one of New York's wonderful 62 counties every year, and no place is better to live, work and raise a family than upstate," he said. "My focus remains strengthening our jobs — like those at Hickey Freeman, Harris Radio, Kraft Heinz and Keybank — and attracting new cutting-edge research and industries here to build the jobs of the future.”

Mayor Lovely Warren likewise threw down a welcome mat for the President.

"On behalf of the citizens of Rochester, I would like to invite Mr. Trump to 'Upper New York State', to see for himself our next-generation economy, the incredible innovations being made here, and the strength a community can hold when it embraces all of its citizens – regardless of their race, gender, sexual orientation, religion or background," she said. "Under the previous administration President Obama sent Vice President Biden here to help us further our claim as the Photonics Capital of the World, instead of suggesting our residents move away. Being a President means being a leader and representing an entire nation — not just a select few.”

Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. John Katko, R-Camilius, who represents Cayuga, Onondaga and Wayne counties as well as part of Oswego County, said he was "disappointed" by the suggestion New Yorkers need to move.

"Elected officials at all levels should be focused on putting pro-growth policies in place," he said in a statement "We should never give up on our efforts to restore our nation's manufacturing sector, and create well-paying jobs. I love central New York, and I will never stop my work to keep and create jobs right here in our region."

U.S. Rep. Claudia Tenney, R-New Hartford, Oneida County, who represents cities including Utica, Rome, Cortland and Binghamton, said she hopes the comments were taken out of context.

"Upstate has a rich history of manufacturing products used around the world. Bad policies passed down from Albany have driven people and businesses out of our state in record numbers, leading our region to become the rust belt of New York," she said. "Albany politicians have made our state among the highest taxed and regulated states in the nation garnering the title of the least friendly business climate in the country."

There's no denying that New York's bright days of manufacturing are largely in the past. According to former Empire State Development head of Policy and Research John Bacheller, who blogs at Policy Numbers New York, there were roughly 1.2 million fewer people employed in manufacturing in the state in 2014 than there were in 1970.

In the Rochester area alone in 1970, Bacheller said, about 152,000 people worked in the manufacturing sector in jobs that had average earnings of about $68,000 in today's dollars. In 2014, about 62,000 people worked in the manufacturing sector here, with average earnings of about $74,500.

"The loss of nearly 100,000 jobs paying significantly more than the regional average has had a significant impact of Rochester and other rust belt metropolitan areas," he said.

Bacheller's analysis shows that statewide, New York's metropolitan areas have lost about three-quarters of all manufacturing jobs that existed in 1970. At nearly 27 percent, the highest percentage losses came in the Binghamton area (compared with private sector employment in 1970) and the lowest percentage losses came in Albany-Schenectady-Troy, which lost 8 percent of manufacturing jobs.

MCDERMOT@Gannett.com