President Donald Trump stopped by Peterbilt's Denton, Texas, facility Thursday afternoon, touting a resurgence of American manufacturing at the plant that's churned out more than 750,000 Peterbilt trucks over the past 46 years.
His stop at Pete's plant in north-central Texas marked President Trump's second tour of a heavy truck assembly line in three months, having in June visited Mack Trucks' Lehigh Valley Operations (LVO) in Macungie, Pa.
More than 2,500 people work from PACCAR's 700,000 square foot Denton plant, which sits on a 230 acre campus and produces about 200 trucks per day in a "state-of-the-art, super cool," facility, noted PACCAR CEO Preston Feight.
Trump, flanked by a pair of Model 579, centered much of his address on national trade deficits, job growth, and foreign policy, arguing that his protective tariff strategies have successfully reversed decades of decline for American industry.
"For decades you were heartlessly betrayed by politicians, lousy politicians who let foreign trade cheaters plunder your wages, loot your factories, close up your jobs, and they robbed our country blind," Trump told the crowd.
He emphasized that his administration's trade policies have caused the U.S. trade deficit with China to plummet to its lowest level in 44 years and pushed American exports to historic highs.
Trump connected Peterbilt's production milestones to national figures, arguing that heavy truck shipments and manufacturing jobs have hit historic highs under his watch.
"After years of decline, this year the United States is adding 60,000 new manufacturing jobs and heavy truck manufacturing is almost up by about 31%," Trump said, ":and heavy truck shipments have hit an all-time high—the highest in the history of our country under the Trump administration. So America trucking is back."
Job growth nationwide, Trumpo said, has led to "the lowest numbers on poverty in the history of our country."
Trump also applauded his EPA for rolling back numerous emissions regulations, "we're getting rid of that crap," he noted, adding the complexity of the equipment made it more expensive and difficult to operate.
Trump also stumped for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, whose office in April launched a statewide investigation into several trucking schools accused of certifying unqualified drivers and violating federal English-proficiency requirements. Paxton is currently running for a U.S. Senate seat.
