(Matt Drzik/Beaver County Radio)
Shell estimates that there are 5,100 workers currently employed at the Shell Ethane Cracker Plant. One could assume then that all staff were in attendance at the plant on August 13 as U.S. President Donald Trump made his first visit to the massive plant off of Route 18.
Trump started off by warmly greeting his Beaver County audience, whom he quickly reminded everyone belonged to him in November 2016:
As was to be expected, the feeling of praise was mutually received and given by the President and the Shell workers, as Trump’s main focus was about American production.
He also heaped praise upon Shell itself, claiming that he loved the view of the cranes and trucks on site (saying it reminded him of playing with those toys when he was little). He also acclaimed Shell for being announced as the newest cooperators in Trump’s “Pledge To American Workers” initiative.
Though Trump did bounce around at times–chiding the likes of Hillary Clinton, Elizabeth Warren & Joe Biden–for the majority he stayed focused on his self-claimed successes in helping American jobs and commerce survive and thrive.
If there was an enemy that Trump zeroed in on during the hour-and-change speech, it was China…the country with whom he felt was “screwing over” and “taking advantage” of America over years of attempts at socioeconomic dominance.
The crowd of workers were very positive of Trump and his speech, only booing at familiar targets like Hillary Clinton and the “Green New Deal”. In fact, the only level of agitation between the workers and Trump occurred after the speech, when the delayed departure of the presidential motorcade kept several hundred people inside the warehouse where the speech was held.
For more images from Trump’s speech at the Shell plant, check out the gallery below.