AUSTIN, Texas _ Dogged by impeachment hearings in Washington, President Donald Trump returned Wednesday to the somewhat friendly confines of Texas for his seventh visit of the year, touring a Northwest Austin computer plant to celebrate Apple Inc.'s expansion in Central Texas.
Apple CEO Tim Cook led Trump, daughter and adviser Ivanka Trump and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on an afternoon tour of the Flextronics plant where the Mac Pro desktop computer is assembled after the company abandoned plans to shift that production to China after receiving federal tariff exemptions.
From the assembly room floor, Trump told Cook that he greatly respected the work being done and said he is "honored that you're doing what you're doing on this special occasion."
At one point during the tour of the assembly process, a worker showed Trump the bottom metal plate of a Mac Pro that said "Designed by Apple in California. Assembled in USA."
"That's what we want," Trump said, holding up the plate.
Outside the plant, protesters and Trump supporters gathered on opposite sides of a street, shouting chants and insults at one another as police stood in between to keep the peace. At one point, dueling chants of "Lock him up" and "Four more years" echoed.
Ted Endicott of Lampasas County said he traveled to Austin after missing the president's last two rallies in Houston and Dallas because of an illness. Endicott said he planned to sell rubber ducks resembling Trump along with other collectibles.
Christopher Ritchie, joined by Melanie Brooks, was among the first to arrive at a shopping mall on Riata Trace Parkway near Flextronics in hopes of showing Trump that "he's welcome in Austin."
Maia Weaver hoped to convey a different message with a sign, referring to a misspelled Trump tweet, saying: "Will buy you hamberders to leave."
"This individual represents corporate interest," Weaver said. "This individual is only interested in stuffing his own pockets. This individual is not interested in inclusion. This individual is interested in division."
Dressed as a handmaiden from "The Handmaid's Tale," Penny Adrian of Cedar Park said she was protesting Trump's views and treatment of women.
"I want to show him that most American people do not support his cruelty, his racism, his misogyny, his viciousness. I think he is under the illusion that he has a cult following and that most Americans support him, and I just refuse to believe that," Adrian said.
Austin police estimated there were 200 pro-Trump and 150 anti-Trump demonstrators outside the plant. Most began clearing out after learning that Trump's motorcade had entered the plant through a different entrance.
Trump arrived in Austin a half-hour behind schedule after a delayed departure from Washington, and he was greeted on the tarmac at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and state Attorney General Ken Paxton. Trump waved to supporters who were gathered nearby, and he gave a couple of fist pumps before stepping into his limousine for the 20-mile trip to Flextronics.
The president spent more than 1 { hours in the plant, where Cook showed off the assembly line, pointed out components of a partially built Mac Pro and drew attention to a sign that read: "Apple works with 9,000 companies across all 50 states. Mac Pro components come from companies in 19 states."
The 244,000-square-foot Flextronics plant employs about 500 workers, and Apple said it has invested more than $200 million in the facility. The company also confirmed that it has broken ground on its new $1 billion campus, which initially will employ 5,000 people less than a mile from its current corporate campus on Parmer Lane.
Trump departed Austin about 5 p.m., returning to Washington after slightly more than three hours in the city.
Gilberto Hinojosa, chairman of the Texas Democratic Party, dismissed Trump's visit as a stunt that showed Republicans are running scared ahead of the 2020 election.
"Texas is the biggest battleground state in the country. That's why Trump is making his seventh visit to our state this year," he said. "He's terrified. Republicans are terrified. They know Trump's failed policies and broken promises are why he will lose."
But U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said Trump's visit highlighted the role GOP policies played in the state's vibrant, thriving economy.
"Apple's decision to make Austin the first home in the U.S. for manufacturing its computers _ for innovating, creating jobs and investing in our local communities _ is another example of how the Lone Star State is thriving," Cruz said. "Thanks to the leadership of President Trump and Republicans in Congress, we've cut taxes for middle-class families and rolled back burdensome federal regulations on job creators."
