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Bernie Sanders appears Dec. 1 in Portland, where he is a popular figure.

(The Associated Press)

"Big day on Thursday for Indiana and the great workers of that wonderful state," President-elect Donald Trump tweeted earlier this week. "We will keep our companies and jobs in the U.S. Thanks Carrier."

Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence, the Indiana governor, will be appearing in Indiana to celebrate their deal with Carrier owner United Technologies that will keep in the U.S. many of the Carrier manufacturing jobs UT had planned to move to Mexico.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who, while running for the Democratic presidential nomination earlier this year, highlighted the "rigged" economy and criticized U.S. trade policy in much the same way Trump did in the Republican contest, believes Trump blew it with United Technologies.

"Today, about 1,000 Carrier workers and their families should be rejoicing," he wrote in the Washington Post. "But the rest of our nation's workers should be very nervous."

The reason: he's convinced that Trump's deal with United Technologies, which is believed to include tax breaks for the company, will lead to a stampede of U.S. corporations essentially blackmailing the president-elect. "In essence," Sanders wrote, "United Technologies took Trump hostage and won. And that should send a shock wave of fear through all workers across the country."

Continued Sanders:

Just a short few months ago, Trump was pledging to force United Technologies to "pay a damn tax." He was insisting on very steep tariffs for companies like Carrier that left the United States and wanted to sell their foreign-made products back in the United States. Instead of a damn tax, the company will be rewarded with a damn tax cut. Wow! How's that for standing up to corporate greed? How's that for punishing corporations that shut down in the United States and move abroad?

Trump has endangered the jobs of workers who were previously safe in the United States. Why? Because he has signaled to every corporation in America that they can threaten to offshore jobs in exchange for business-friendly tax benefits and incentives. Even corporations that weren't thinking of offshoring jobs will most probably be re-evaluating their stance this morning.

* Read Sanders' column.

Other observers of the Carrier deal have reached a different conclusion, believing Trump scored a legitimate victory. Business owner Dustin McKissen, writing in a CNBC op-ed, concluded that United Technologies, which does a lot of work for the federal government, "could see their defense contracts threatened by the Trump administration if they didn't come to the negotiating table."

The New York Times acknowledged that Trump at the very least scored a significant PR victory that will put more political wind at his back. The paper wrote:

"Trump will be hard-pressed to alter the economic forces that have hammered the Rust Belt for decades, but forcing Carrier and its parent company, United Technologies, to reverse course is a powerful tactical strike that will hearten his followers even before he takes office."

Sanders is in Portland today, appearing at Powell's Books to promote a new book.

-- Douglas Perry