Trump Takes a ‘Brake’ to Pretend-Drive a Truck at White House

Social media can not get enough of the photos of Trump behind the wheel.

US President Donald Trump got into a parked truck and pretended to drive, in a gesture to welcome trucking industry representatives to the White House. (Photo: Reuters)

US President Donald Trump got into a parked truck, honked, and pretended to drive in a gesture to welcome trucking industry representatives to the White House on Thursday.

Two trucks were parked in front of the White House for the purpose. While one was emblazoned with a US flag, the other was with a photograph of a trucker, a boy and the words:

“It takes 7 million people to move America like my dad.” 

As Trump shook hands with CEOs of trump companies and drivers, he could be overheard congratulating the drivers on their safety record: "Accident free," he said a few times.

He later joked with the drivers as he turned to the CEOs, "Who makes more, them or you?" Trump then hopped up into one of the trucks.

He honked a few times, closed the driver side door and waved to the press from the window. 

Later Trump was joined by a group of CEOs and drivers in the Cabinet Room of the White House. He was joined by Indian-American Seema Verma, Administrator of a key health care agency who is playing an important role in the presidents healthcare reforms.

Trump joked a couple of times that he couldn't spend too much time with the truckers because of the vote.

I’m not going to make it too long, because I have to get votes. I don’t want to spend too much time with you. I’m going to lose by one vote and then I’m going to blame the truckers.

When a CEO from Flint, introduced himself, Trump chimed in:

We just gave a check for a hundred million dollars to Flint. Think of that whole, horrible deal. That’s great political leadership. What a disaster. In order to save a fee, they went to bad water and spent a fortune on pipes and infrastructure. Anyway, we’re helping out Flint.

In his brief remarks, Trump praised the truckers.

"No one knows America like truckers know America. You see it every day. You see every hill, and you see every valley and you see every pothole in our roads that have to be rebuilt," he said.

Through day and night in all kinds of weather truckers course the arteries of our nation’s highways. You carry anything and everything – the food that stocks our shelves, the fuel that runs our cars and the steel that builds our cities.

"You think I wrote that?" Trump said to laughter. "I want to save that paragraph. But America depends on you. And you work very hard for America," Trump said.