Coronavirus Pennsylvania: President Donald Trump 'Looking Forward' To Visiting Lehigh Valley Despite Delaware County Being First Choice
ALLENTOWN, Pa. (CBS) --We're now less than two days away from President Donald Trump visiting our area. On Tuesday, he said on Twitter, "Looking forward to being in Allentown, Pennsylvania, on Thursday. I love the state, and for very good reason!"
However, Delaware County was Trump's first choice for his trip, not the Lehigh Valley.
Reports show Trump was initially trying to plan a visit here at the Braskem Factory in Marcus Hook.
This is where a specialized fabric is made that's critical to make N95 masks and hospital gowns.
The factory made headlines when family and friends of its workers drove around the plant in a parade.
That's because, for 28 days, workers isolated themselves at the plant, doing nothing but eating, sleeping and working to make sure they would not bring the virus into the facility.
So, the White House wanted to capitalize on a visit here, according to The Washington Post. But the plant wanted Trump's visit postponed to not put the plant at any risk during the pandemic.
Now, Trump is planning a visit for Thursday afternoon over at the Owens and Minor Inc. Factory in Upper Macungie Township, near Allentown.
"We've been extremely focused on Pennsylvania, we know how important it is as a battleground state. It's always important for the president," Trump Victory Director of Regional Communications Rick Gorka said.
But there are concerns Trump will not wear a mask.
"Hope he does everything in his power to keep employees safe," Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf said.
Meantime, as many communities struggle to deal with a lack of tax revenue during the economic shutdown, local officials hope Trump hears their pleas to help pay for essential services.
"Unless people are willing to accept massive service cuts or massive tax hikes, we've got a big problem coming down the pike. We need help from the federal government if we're going to afford teachers, police officers and firefighters," said state Rep. Mike Schlossberg
Trump's visit to the Lehigh Valley Thursday will be his second trip outside of Washington, D.C. since the economic shutdown.
