President Donald Trump tours Maine maker of swabs for coronavirus testing
President Donald Trump arrived in Maine Friday afternoon for his first visit to the state since taking office.
The President took off from Joint Base Andrews just before 1 p.m. and landed at Bangor International Airport just after 2 p.m.
He was greeted by former Maine Gov. Paul LePage. The President then held a roundtable discussion about supporting commercial fishermen.
During the roundtable, the President signed a proclamation to allow commercial fishing in a conservation area off the New England coast. The Northeast Canyons and Seamounts was the first national marine monument in the Atlantic Ocean. The conservation area comprises 5,000 square miles east of Cape Cod that contains vulnerable species of marine life such as right whales and fragile deep sea corals.
During the roundtable, the President and LePage were critical of Gov. Janet Mills' handling of the coronavirus outbreak and the impact on the economy. Trump said Mills was "like a dictator."
Mills on a phone call with the President earlier this week expressed safety concerns about his visit to Maine.
She fired back at the President's remarks about her Friday afternoon.
“Yesterday, I asked the President to check his rhetoric at the door and to lead us with courage and compassion through this difficult time. Sadly, but unsurprisingly, he continues to prove himself incapable of doing so.
“What Maine people heard today was more of the same incendiary rhetoric and insults he uses to try to divide us and to stoke tension and fear. What Maine people heard today was largely devoid of fact and absent of reality. What Maine people saw today was a rambling, confusing, thinly-veiled political rally," Mills said.
Tap here to read the governor's full statement.
After the roundtable with fishermen, the President then departed for Guilford, a small town of about 1,500 people, where he will tour Puritan Medical Products, a company that makes swabs for coronavirus tests and is expanding.
The President arrived by helicopter and then his motorcade took him through town to the Puritan facility.
Supporters and opponents of the President lined the street as the motorcade went by.
Trump toured the Puritan facility before delivering remarks to workers. The President thanked the employees for their work.
"The incredible workers of this company have carried on the noble tradition of American manufacturing excellence for more than 100 years. Now the nation turns to you as we massively increase our testing capacity," Trump said. "Puritan is one of the only manufacturers producing the high quality medical swabs that are crucial for testing."
The federal government gave Puritan $75 million to boost its production, including opening a new facility in Pittsfield with the help of Cianbro. In his speech, the President thanked Bath Iron Works for helping to make the machines Puritan needs to make the swabs.
The new facility is expected to open next month and employ 150 new workers.
The President also talked about Friday's unemployment report. The unemployment rate dropped to a better-than-expected 13.3%. The Labor Department said that U.S. employers added 2.5 million workers to their payrolls last month.
The crowd also cheered when Trump talked about reopening Maine's economy amid the coronavirus outbreak. The President also spoke about his administration's response to the outbreak.
Several workers also spoke to the crowd.
After the speech, the President returned to Marine One and flew back to Bangor. He then boarded Air Force One to return to Washington, DC.
Guilford overwhelmingly supported the Trump in the 2016 election where he won Maine's Second Congressional District.