Making a Moment with the President
By John Lex
America’s Road Team Captain
Professional Driver for Walmart Transportation
What an amazing experience being at the White House for such an historic event for trucking! I can remember the moment the President Trump walked out of the White House, came up to me, and shook my hand. It was unbelievable that he just wanted to spend time with the truckers and talk with us. He asked each of us how long we’ve been driving and commented on the beautiful trucks we had on the South Lawn. I asked him, “Mr. President would you like to get up in one and check it out? You could even blow the horn.”
He looked at both trucks and said he wanted to get in the black one, which was a Mack Pinnacle that ATA’s Share the Road highway safety program uses. He walked over to the truck and started talking to the trucking CEO’s that were there.
After a few minutes he said “let’s see this truck.”
I jumped up into the passenger's seat and my fellow America's Road Team Captain, Steve Fields, showed the President the proper way to enter and exit the tractor using three points of contact. He climbed in and asked me where the horn was. I showed him and he immediately pulled the cord and sounded the horn! How cool is that? He asked me what truck I like the best. Before I could answer him, he said "wait a minute" and then slammed his door shut. He said he couldn't hear a single word with all the people talking outside.
W e talked about all the different types of tractors and I told him one of my favorites was “the one you’re sitting in” because we take it to schools all across the country. He asked me about all the switches and wanted to check out the bunk. President Trump told me it had been a long time since he was in a big truck and he was amazed at how they have changed over the years. He was so cool and was just as friendly as could be. That’s probably why I’m smiling so much in all of the pictures!
He looked at me a said, “Well I think I better get out there,” and then thanked me for the tour of the truck. Before he got out I asked, “Mr. President, could I get a selfie with you?” He looked at me and said “Absolutely!” He fixed his coat and gave me a big smile and I took the picture.
ATA also set up a meeting with him in the Cabinet Room of the White House. It was amazing how he took control of the room and one of the first things he asked was what he could do to help us. We talked about the rising costs of health care; how deductibles have skyrocketed the past eight years. He noted how the Affordable Care Act was hurting truck drivers and trucking companies. He also talked about how over-regulated we are. We talked a little about hours of service and he gave us all time to introduce ourselves. The President was blown away by all the years and safe miles the twelve drivers in the room had achieved.
It was truly an honor to be there and represent over 3.5 million professional truck drivers in our industry. I can’t tell you how many times in our meeting he said that he loved truckers! He even had an ‘I love trucks’ button on his jacket. I know for a fact that the President had a million other things that he could be doing, but he took time out of his day to meet with us, the professional truck drivers.
