Speaking on the South Lawn of the White House Thursday, President Trump honored truck drivers for their dedication to helping the country during widespread shutdowns.
“Truck drivers form the lifeblood of our economy — and the absolute lifeblood. For days, and sometimes weeks on end, truck drivers leave their homes and deliver supplies that American families need and count on during this national crisis and at all other times,” the president said. “They’re always there. Their routes connect every farm, hospital, manufacturer, business, and community in the country.”
During his comments Trump was joined by Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao, CEO of the American Trucking Association Chris Spear. He was also joined by Charlton Paul, a New York UPS driver, and Dylan Madigan, a driver for DHL Express in New Jersey.
Paul talked about how he was proud to continue to do his job in the fight against coronavirus and represent almost a half-million UPS drivers.
“I recently carried 180 gallons of hand sanitizer made by one of our customers, Prohibition Distillery, in Upstate New York. Some of my colleagues of UPS Freight have been delivering barrels of hand sanitizer to the New York City Police Department,” Paul said. “I couldn’t be more proud of my team.”
Madigan added that it was honor to support the medical professionals and be involved in the fight against the virus.
President Trump thanked Paul and Madigan for their hard work and said that thank you came from not just him, but every American.
“In the war against the virus, American truckers are the foot soldiers who are really carrying us to victory. And they are. They’ve done an incredible job. We’ve had no problems. It’s been just — it’s been just great, and we want to thank you very much,” Trump said. “To every trucker listening over the radio or behind the wheel, I know I speak for the 330 million-plus Americans that we say: Thank God for truckers. That’ll be our theme: Thank God for truckers.”