During a Fox Business interview on Thursday, President Trump said that a group of truckers were honking in support of him, and not protesting cheap freight.
Since May 1, a group of truck drivers have been stationed on Constitution Avenue in Washington D.C. in an attempt to raise awareness about low freight rates and to ask for more transparency in freight broker transactions.
After the protest activities escalated on May 13, with some of the truckers temporarily blocking traffic on Constitution Avenue, White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows spoke with truckers and assured them that the President would take action on their behalf.
During a May 14 interview with Fox Business’s Maria Bartiromo hosted on the White House lawn, the truckers on Constitution Avenue could be heard blasting their airhorns, leading Trump to comment on the noise.
Trump said, “You hear all that honking? You know what that is? That’s trucks. They love their President.”
“Trucking protesters?” Bartiromo asked.
Trump replied, “Well, they’re not protesters. They’re supporters of me. Because we’re getting things for the truckers, and all those great truckers that are all over country.”
“They want the economy open,” Bartiromo said.
“And they are really thankful that I am President frankly. So when I hear the horns, there are a thousand trucks outside….it’s great,” Trump said before steering the conversation back towards China.
In recent weeks, Trump has taken to Twitter to share messages of support for the trucking community. He also appeared on Fox News and said that he believes that truckers are being “price gouged.”
The day after Meadows promised the Constitution Avenue truckers that Trump would act on their behalf, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) debuted their long awaited Hours of Service regulation reform plan.