President Trump told Pennsylvanian workers on Tuesday he needs a second term to help the U.S. reclaim its “noble heritage” as a nation of builders with a robust manufacturing sector.
Cheered by rowdy workers in neon vests, Mr. Trump said the Shell Pennsylvania Petrochemicals Complex is a critical part of his push to bolster domestic energy and tame countries that have “taken advantage” of American workers.
“This would have never happened without me, and us,” said Mr. Trump, though Shell announced its plans in 2016.
Mr. Trump said if Hillary Clinton had won, the plant wouldn’t have opened.
The White House said Mr. Trump planned to tour the facility’s gas furnaces and an ethylene cracker plant, which serves a pivotal role in making plastic.
The plant served as an ideal backdrop for Mr. Trump’s push to increase domestic energy production by approving new plants and pipelines and sweeping away regulatory hurdles.”I ended the war on American energy,” Mr. Trump said.
Pennsylvania, in particular, is viewed as a key piece of Mr. Trump’s 2020 effort. He claimed the state three years ago, though former Vice President Joseph R. Biden — the Democratic frontrunner and a Scranton native — leads Mr. Trump in the state by comfortable margins, according to recent polls.
Mr. Trump ticked off his efforts to boost domestic steel through tariffs and touted Japan’s investments in the American auto industry.
He said his efforts will be for naught unless workers press their union leaders to support his reelection.
If leaders don’t back him, Mr. Trump said, workers should “vote ‘em the hell out of office, because they’re not doing their job.”
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