ALLENTOWN, Pa. — The road in front of Owens & Minor is usually filled with tractor-trailers coming in and out of the industrial park near Allentown. On Thursday, it was filled with thousands of people on hand to support the president.
President Trump was greeted by thousands of supporters as his motorcade brought him to Owens & Minor, a company outside Allentown that distributes medical equipment like N95 masks. Trump was in town to speak to the workers getting the important protection equipment out to workers on the front lines.
Trump supporters started showing up as early as 10 a.m. to make sure they had a clear spot to greet President Trump as he arrived at Owens & Minor.
"There's an awful lot of people here. We want to support President Trump," said Maureen Sangiorgio from Old Forge. "Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!"
The president came to speak to employees at Owens & Minor to thank them for their hard work during the pandemic. The Lehigh Valley has been hit hard by the coronavirus, and many people outside were happy he chose to visit Pennsylvania.
"I think it means a lot to the Pennsylvanians out here that he came here to take a stand," Lisa Kerns said.
Despite the thousands of supporters, there were still a few protesters who showed up.
"I wanted to come out and stand up for myself and what I believe. I wanted to stand against Donald Trump and his presidency and the way that he's been dealing with this virus," said Asher Wilcox.
Many people we spoke with are upset with how Governor Wolf is handling the state with his stay-at-home orders, and President Trump has indirectly made comments about the way some Democratic leaders are dealing with the coronavirus in their states.
"We'd like to have Pennsylvania reopen, too," said Joe Ksiaskiewicz from East Stroudsburg. "We're having a hard time. I have family members that are struggling. They have to pay the rent; they have to make money to feed the family, so we want Pennsylvania opened, and we're in total support of Trump."
President Trump departed Owens & Minor to cheers from the crowd that stuck around to see him off. During his speech, he reiterated that Pennsylvanians have been doing a good job of flattening the curve.