MARINETTE — President Donald Trump traveled to Wisconsin Thursday for a brief town hall event in Green Bay before his main stop in Marinette where he toured a shipyard and gave a speech in front of hundreds of employees.
The president’s speech was not at a rally but he was certainly in campaign mode. He touched on key issues such as the economy and his response to the pandemic, but he mainly focused on his ‘Buy American, Hire American’ initiative.
“Our nation is very proud of Wisconsin,” Mr. Trump said.
The president took the stage at Fincantieri Marinette Marine to officially announce that the shipbuilding company has been awarded the first portion of a $5.5 billion contract to construct up to ten U.S. Navy ships.
“It will go as a 7,500-ton message to the world that American might is second to none,” President Trump said.
President Trump touted that the contract allows the Wisconsin company to nearly double its workforce with an additional 1,000 employees who will focus on the project for the next decade. Mr. Trump claims the economic ripple effect across the state will be even greater.
“The Wisconsin supply chain, 9,000 more jobs are going to be generated because of the chain itself,” he said.
The president transitioned from a local manufacturing resurgence to his efforts to contain the coronavirus.
“If we didn’t test, we wouldn’t have cases, but we have cases because we test,” he said.
His opponent and former Vice President Joe Biden fired back at the president’s claim Thursday while on the campaign trail himself.
“He thinks that finding out more Americans are sick will make him look bad,” Biden said. “That's what he's worried about. He's worried about looking bad.”
Those who attended Mr. Trump’s speech Thursday had their seats placed a few feet apart as a social distancing precaution. Everyone who came also had their temperatures checked upon entry, however, a small percentage wore masks during the president’s speech.
