Trump visit to Pennsylvania factory put off after company decides it's too risky


With President Trump wanting to get out of Washington, D.C., and show off his leadership skills, White House staffers thought it would be smart to have Trump visit a Pennsylvania plant that produced personal protective equipment, two people familiar with the matter told The Washington Post, but the plan fizzled after factory officials decided it was just too risky to hold the event.
The Braskem factory in Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania, made headlines when employees remained inside the building for 28 days, making medical gear without worrying about the items becoming contaminated by coronavirus. During discussions between factory officials and the White House advance team, Braskem conveyed its concern that a Trump visit would jeopardize the safety of workers and the plant's ability to make a special fabric needed for its medical gear. They worried there wasn't enough room to social distance, and wouldn't have let workers attend the event anyway, the Post reports.
The White House, which wanted the event to be held last Friday, suggested holding something outside instead, but the factory finally said there was too much of a risk and asked to have the visit rescheduled for after the coronavirus pandemic. In a statement, Braskem CEO Mark Nikolich said the company was "deeply honored by the White House's acknowledgment of our production resiliency teams. However, after many discussions, the parties agreed due to the nature of petrochemical operations and the safety of our team members and visitors a visit wasn't feasible."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Last Tuesday, Trump went to a Honeywell facility in Phoenix that made masks, while not wearing a face covering himself. On Thursday, Vice President Mike Pence trekked to a Virginia nursing home to deliver personal protective equipment, joined by Katie Miller, his press secretary. Neither one wore a mask, and on Friday, Miller tested positive for coronavirus. That didn't prevent Pence from flying to Iowa, where he interacted with Gov. Kim Reynolds (R).
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
What to know before turning to AI for financial advice
the explainer It can help you crunch the numbers — but it might also pocket your data
-
Book reviews: 'The Headache: The Science of a Most Confounding Affliction—and a Search for Relief' and 'Tonight in Jungleland: The Making of Born to Run'
Feature The search for a headache cure and revisiting Springsteen's 'Born to Run' album on its 50th anniversary
-
Keith McNally' 6 favorite books that have ambitious characters
Feature The London-born restaurateur recommends works by Leo Tolstoy, John le Carré, and more
-
New York court tosses Trump's $500M fraud fine
Speed Read A divided appeals court threw out a hefty penalty against President Trump for fraudulently inflating his wealth
-
Trump said to seek government stake in Intel
Speed Read The president and Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan reportedly discussed the proposal at a recent meeting
-
US to take 15% cut of AI chip sales to China
Speed Read Nvidia and AMD will pay the Trump administration 15% of their revenue from selling artificial intelligence chips to China
-
NFL gets ESPN stake in deal with Disney
Speed Read The deal gives the NFL a 10% stake in Disney's ESPN sports empire and gives ESPN ownership of NFL Network
-
Samsung to make Tesla chips in $16.5B deal
Speed Read Tesla has signed a deal to get its next-generation chips from Samsung
-
FCC greenlights $8B Paramount-Skydance merger
Speed Read The Federal Communications Commission will allow Paramount to merge with the Hollywood studio Skydance
-
Tesla reports plummeting profits
Speed Read The company may soon face more problems with the expiration of federal electric vehicle tax credits
-
Dollar faces historic slump as stocks hit new high
Speed Read While stocks have recovered post-Trump tariffs, the dollar has weakened more than 10% this year