LOWER MACUNGIE TWP., Pa. — More than 100 people lined the street outside Mack Trucks’ plant Tuesday ahead of President Donald Trump’s visit to the facility.
Many were equipped with cardboard signs — that wilted in the steady rain — to voice their scorn for the chief executive and his second administration.
Some protesters were straightforward with their signs, calling for fair voting and support for democracy; others were more clever: “So Much WRONG So Little Cardboard” and “No Faux King Way.”
But most who stood in the rain for about two hours outside the plant’s front door left before making their points to the motorcade; a whisper had spread through the crowd that Trump skirted them and was already inside.
As the group thinned, Adalaide Higgins criticized Trump and U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, saying they dodge constituents who disagree with them.
The Upper Milford Township resident, who held a sign that called Trump a “union buster,” said his visit was a campaign event for the freshman congressman. Mackenzie is seeking re-election in one of the closest battleground districts in the country.
He won Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional District by a single percentage point to unseat three-term incumbent Democratic Rep. Susan Wild in November 2024.
The president was at Mack several days after Mackenzie visited the facility to announce $47 million in funding for more M917A3 Heavy Dump Trucks. That money is part of a five-year contract for up to 450 trucks, worth as much as $221.8 million.
'Photo op'
Kathleen Parsons, of Upper Saucon Township, said she had no issue with Mack Trucks hosting Trump, but she questioned the president’s sincerity.
“He is the president of the United States, and Mack is a business that … employs good union workers. So, I don't have a problem with him coming here,” Parsons said. “I mean, he’s just doing it for a photo op anyway, it’s not like he really cares about manufacturing and this company.”
Owen Levan-Uhler, a recent Moravian University graduate, said he drove to Lower Macungie Township on Tuesday afternoon to “tell Trump that he’s not welcome here.”
He praised his fellow protesters for showing up despite a soaking rain.
“I obviously was optimistic but I didn’t think that we would get as many people as we did,” Levan-Uhler said. “I think we had a really great turnout.”
