CINCINNATI -- President Donald Trump said he plans for the federal government to invest $200 billion in infrastructure while speaking to a crowd at Rivertowne Marina Wednesday.
The president spoke to two Cincinnati crowds during his visit here Wednesday -- one at Lunken Airport where he arrived via Air Force One and another at the marina off Kellogg Ave.
During his speech on infrastructure, Trump invoked major projects of the past -- including the construction of the Panama Canal, Transcontinental Railroad and Interstate Highway System -- and said that overseas spending has hampered modern large-scale infrastructure improvements.
"We don't do that anymore. We really don't," he said. "We don't even fix them anymore."
While some had anticipated Trump would announce a follow-up to his campaign promise to fix the Brent Spence Bridge, he didn't mention any specific projects during his speech and took no questions.
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Trump did speak about several problems with locks and dams that have delayed barge traffic in the Ohio River and elsewhere. He said he would "reduce burdensome regulations" including environmental reviews to help projects get underway faster.
"We will work directly with state and local governments to give them the freedom and flexibility they need to revitalize our nation's infrastructure," he said.
To protester William Good, who joined a crowd of around 80 dissenter near the marina, that sounded like trouble. Good said he was wary of the possibility that Trump would attempt to help expedite infrastructure projects through privatization, as he had suggested doing with air traffic control.
"Privatizing the roads is going to lead us to having toll roads everywhere and toll bridges," Good said. "We’re already paying taxes, and that’s what our taxes are for. … Selling it off is just going to put money into the big corporate hands."
Watch the full speech at Rivertowne Marina below
At Lunken Airport, Trump spoke briefly in favor of his proposed health care reforms. He was joined by families from Ohio and Kentucky he described as "victims of the Obamacare catastrophe."
Trump said the families represented others "going through turmoil" because of health care and blamed the Affordable Care Act for increasing premiums and insurers exiting the marketplace, including Anthem's announcement they would withdraw from the Ohio exchange at the end of the year.
Trump praised the House of Representatives for passing a health care reform bill and called on the Senate to do likewise, denouncing "obstructionists" who oppose the plan.
"We're working very hard to fix this big problem," he said.
Watch the full speech at Lunken Airport below:
See a recap of our live coverage below:
