Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Gabbard Revokes Security Clearances of 37 Current, Former US Intelligence Members

12 hours ago

Trump Escalates Attacks Against the Smithsonian Institution

13 hours ago

California Republicans File Suit Seeking to Block Newsom Redistricting Plan

14 hours ago

Revised Congressional Maps Target Valadao, Boost Gray in the Valley

15 hours ago

Dollar Slips as Traders Wait on Jackson Hole

16 hours ago

Tesla Drivers Can Pursue Class Action Over Self-Driving Claims, Judge Rules

17 hours ago

Trump Eyes Reclassification to Make Cannabis Easier to Buy and Sell

2 days ago

America’s Wildfire Fighters, Unmasked in Toxic Smoke, Are Getting Sick and Dying

2 days ago

US Offers Up to $50,000 Bonus for New ICE Deportation Officers

2 days ago
Pence Pulls on Boots, Promotes Trade in Valley Visit
GV-Wire-1
By gvwire
Published 6 years ago on
July 10, 2019

Share

Vice President Mike Pence pulled off his tie, slapped on some boots, then stepped off Air Force Two on Wednesday and into a full morning and afternoon of events in the Valley, including a speech supporting the nation’s new trade agreement with Canada and Mexico.
Pence gave the remarks about the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement at the Freitas Family Farm just outside Lemoore.
The crowd overflowed the farm’s pavilion, with some people sitting atop hay bales, shaded from afternoon heat that climbed into the 90s. The event was hosted by America First, which is President Donald Trump’s Super PAC.
The USMCA is designed to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA. USMCA needs to be ratified by Congress.

Pact ‘Puts American Agriculture First,’ Pence Says

“The president made it clear in the course of that campaign that he believed NAFTA had not served American workers and American jobs and American farmers,” Pence said. “Well, we promised to renegotiate that agreement and that we did.”
Pence said he had been traveling across the nation to promote the renegotiated trade agreement.
“I wanted to come here to California, here in the San Joaquin Valley, because you all understand the global impact of our agricultural economy and the need to have a trade deal here with our neighbors to the north and south,” Pence said. “It really puts American agriculture first. That’s exactly what we’ve done.
“I mean here in California, this great state already exports more than $48 billion in goods and services to Canada and Mexico alone. And under the USMCA, we know that number is going to grow.”

Vice President Mike Pence speaks about the USMCA trade agreement at Freitas Family Farm outside Lemoore on Wednesday. (David Taub/GV Wire)

A Word for the Vice President’s Hosts

Pence said the USMCA would open up Canada to poultry producers for the sale of chicken and eggs, “along with expanded access for turkey.” That triggered a “woo!” of approval from someone in the crowd. “Somebody is excited about that,” Pence responded. “Making Thanksgiving plans over there.”
The vice president brought his hosts, the Frietas family, into the speech. “I know that Doug and Julie want to pass this extraordinary, third-generation farm on to (the next generation). Thanks to President Donald Trump and our supporters in the Congress, that’s going to be a whole lot easier because the president signed a tax cut that eliminated the death tax for nearly every family farmer in America.”
Pence concluded his remarks with Trump’s 2016 campaign slogan: “Make America great again.”


After the speech, Pence responded to a question about Gov. Gavin Newsom approved legislation this week that makes California the first state to offer taxpayer-funded health benefits to young adults living in the country illegally. Pence said the move only will serve to increase the flow of undocumented immigrants across the southern border.
The event at the Freitas farm was Pence’s only public appearance of the day, other than brief handshakes at Naval Air Station Lemoore, where the vice president’s plane touched down.

Fundraiser at Harris Inn Ranch

Before disembarking, Pence changed clothes, putting on a work shirt and boots more befitting of a visitor to the nation’s agricultural capital.
A crowd of about 75 was at the base when the Pence and his wife, Karen, arrived. He walked over and had some pictures taken. “Hey, Navy, how are ya?” he could be heard saying to one service member.
Pence then got into a black Suburban that rolled to the vice president’s first stop: Harris Inn Ranch in Coalinga, where he attended a fundraiser for Trump’s reelection campaign.

Pence Talks About Immigration, Border Wall

The pool reporter accompanying Pence, Josh Dawsey of The Washington Post, said that he wasn’t allowed to listen in on the vice president’s remarks at the Coalinga event.
However, an administration official said Pence addressed a crowd of more than 100 supporters on immigration and the border wall.
The official also said Pence expected to raise more than $1 million on his California swing.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Fresno Supervisors End Lease for Free Needle Exchange Clinic

DON'T MISS

Porterville Police Make DUI Arrest, Issue 13 Citations in Weekend Checkpoint

DON'T MISS

Trump Claims Powell ‘Hurting’ the Housing Industry in Latest Attack on Fed Chair

DON'T MISS

Everything Tennis Fans Need to Know About the 2025 U.S. Open

DON'T MISS

Madera County Warns of Contagious Canine Virus Outbreak

DON'T MISS

ESPN Won’t Air Spike Lee’s Docuseries on Colin Kaepernick, Citing ‘Creative Differences’

DON'T MISS

White House Launches Official TikTok Account

DON'T MISS

CMAC Will Award Cash Prizes at 72-Hour Film Race Screening

DON'T MISS

Fresno Unified Error Skews State Teacher Data, Analysis Shows

DON'T MISS

Gabbard Revokes Security Clearances of 37 Current, Former US Intelligence Members

UP NEXT

Madera County Warns of Contagious Canine Virus Outbreak

UP NEXT

CMAC Will Award Cash Prizes at 72-Hour Film Race Screening

UP NEXT

Fresno County Boardroom Will Now Display ‘In God We Trust’

UP NEXT

Founders of This New Development Say You Must Be White to Live There

UP NEXT

Yosemite Biologist Who Hung Trans Pride Flag From El Capitan Is Fired

UP NEXT

Madera County Authorities Seek Help Finding Family of Deceased Man

UP NEXT

Revised Congressional Maps Target Valadao, Boost Gray in the Valley

UP NEXT

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Kou Fang

UP NEXT

Nexstar to Buy Smaller Rival Tegna for $3.54 Billion in Big Local-TV Deal

UP NEXT

Know a Victim of Real Estate Fraud? Fresno County DA Has Investigation Team

Everything Tennis Fans Need to Know About the 2025 U.S. Open

9 hours ago

Madera County Warns of Contagious Canine Virus Outbreak

9 hours ago

ESPN Won’t Air Spike Lee’s Docuseries on Colin Kaepernick, Citing ‘Creative Differences’

9 hours ago

White House Launches Official TikTok Account

9 hours ago

CMAC Will Award Cash Prizes at 72-Hour Film Race Screening

10 hours ago

Fresno Unified Error Skews State Teacher Data, Analysis Shows

11 hours ago

Gabbard Revokes Security Clearances of 37 Current, Former US Intelligence Members

12 hours ago

Immigrant Students Shape California’s Future. Don’t Close the Door on Them

12 hours ago

Fresno County Boardroom Will Now Display ‘In God We Trust’

12 hours ago

Founders of This New Development Say You Must Be White to Live There

13 hours ago

Fresno Supervisors End Lease for Free Needle Exchange Clinic

Fresno County Supervisors on Tuesday all agreed that the San Joaquin Valley Free Medical Clinic in downtown Fresno helps many of those harde...

7 hours ago

7 hours ago

Fresno Supervisors End Lease for Free Needle Exchange Clinic

7 hours ago

Porterville Police Make DUI Arrest, Issue 13 Citations in Weekend Checkpoint

President Donald Trump and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speak during a tour of the Federal Reserve Board building, which is currently undergoing renovations, in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 24, 2025. (Reuters File)
9 hours ago

Trump Claims Powell ‘Hurting’ the Housing Industry in Latest Attack on Fed Chair

Time Lapse Image of Tennis Star Coco Gauff
9 hours ago

Everything Tennis Fans Need to Know About the 2025 U.S. Open

Madera County Animal Services is warning pet owners about an outbreak of highly contagious canine distemper virus confirmed in the City of Madera’s riverbed area. (Shutterstock)
9 hours ago

Madera County Warns of Contagious Canine Virus Outbreak

Colin Kaepernick in 2019 workout for NFL teams
9 hours ago

ESPN Won’t Air Spike Lee’s Docuseries on Colin Kaepernick, Citing ‘Creative Differences’

President Donald Trump delivers remarks, in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 14, 2025. (Reuters File)
9 hours ago

White House Launches Official TikTok Account

CMAC 72-Hour Film Race screening
10 hours ago

CMAC Will Award Cash Prizes at 72-Hour Film Race Screening

Search

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Send this to a friend