Trump touts tariffs on trucks, metals at Mack Trucks factory in Lehigh Valley
Trump told workers he placed a 25% tariff on medium and heavy duty trucks and 50% tariffs on foreign copper, aluminum and steel to protect their jobs.
WHITE HOUSE — Donald Trump celebrated tariff policies at a Mack Trucks factory in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley, sharing a post by conservative journalist Nick Sortor on Truth Social on July 5, 2026 at 11:20 AM EST (see truthsocial).
Here is the full post on [truthsocial]: “Nick Sortor @nicksortor Subscribe MASSIVE cheers from Mack Trucks workers in Lehigh Valley as President Trump celebrates their factory ROCKETING BACK after decades of abuse by America last admins “They put China first. They put illegal aliens first, and everybody else first BUT YOU. But we put you first by a lot.” “I placed a 25% tariff on medium and heavy duty trucks so that Mack Truck could do very well with this factory in Pennsylvania.” “They’re CHEATERS and ABUSERS and violators of the world like no president has ever stood up before.” “I placed 50% tariffs on foreign copper, aluminum, and steel so they couldn’t come in and steal your jobs. And sometimes even more than 100% tariffs. They weren’t going to come in from foreign lands and steal your jobs if they wanted to come in. They pay 100%, they pay 200%. I don’t care what it is. They’re NOT going to steal your jobs. Okay?!” “Within a SINGLE YEAR of taking office, I slashed trade deficit with China by the largest amount in the history of trade. I cut it by 67%.””
Trump told the assembled workers he placed a 25% tariff on medium and heavy duty trucks specifically so that the Mack Trucks factory in Pennsylvania could thrive. He also claimed to have imposed 50% tariffs on foreign copper, aluminum and steel, adding that some tariffs exceeded 100% and even reached 200% to prevent foreign manufacturers from undercutting domestic jobs.
Trump said previous administrations “put China first” and “put illegal aliens first” over American workers. He claimed that within a single year of taking office he reduced the trade deficit with China by 67%, calling it “the largest amount in the history of trade.”
President Donald J. Trump shared a post by Nick Sortor on Truth Social on 07/05/2026.
© copyright Zenger.News
The post was shared by Nick Sortor, a conservative journalist and influencer based in Washington, D.C. Sortor gained significant public attention after his arrest in Portland, Oregon, in October 2025 during protests outside a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility. The Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office declined to charge him, finding he had acted in self-defense. Sortor later announced plans to sue the city of Portland for $10 million, alleging his civil rights were violated and citing what he and his attorney called a pattern of bias by the Portland Police Bureau against conservatives (see opb.org).
The Mack Trucks event underscores the administration’s continued emphasis on protectionist trade policy as a central economic message. Mack Trucks, a subsidiary of Volvo Group, operates a major manufacturing facility in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, a swing-state area with a heavy concentration of industrial and logistics workers.
Trump’s tariff-focused post was one of only three posts on the topic of tariffs out of 518 total Trump posts over the last 30 days, according to a Zenger analysis of Truth Social activity.
Source: Zenger real-time database of all Truth Social posts.
Note: Chart generated on July 5, 2026 at 11:29 AM EST
Source: Zenger analysis
Note: Table generated by https://zenger.news on July 5, 2026 at 11:29 AM EST