White House: President Trump to visit SC Friday | The State

President Donald Trump is coming to North Charleston to visit Boeing Friday.

S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster, a Trump political ally, will join the president, the governor’s office confirmed.

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer confirmed Trump’s trip to the Palmetto State during a press briefing Tuesday.

Trump’s trip is timed to the aircraft manufacturer’s unveiling of the stretched version of its 787 airplane.

“This visit will give the president an opportunity to celebrate a huge milestone for thousands of workers at Boeing, America's No. 1 exporter in the millions of American workers involved in aerospace,” Spicer said. “This trip has been months in the making, and we're thrilled to celebrate the roll-out of this amazing plane.”

The visit will be the first time a sitting president has been to Boeing’s North Charleston plant.

McMaster’s appearance with Trump is not surprising.

The Richland Republican was the first statewide office holder in the nation to endorse the bombastic billionaire reality-television star, helping Trump to win 33 percent of the votes in South Carolina’s crucial GOP primary, taking first place.

McMaster also gave a nominating speech for Trump at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland last year. He became governor last month when Trump picked former Gov. Nikki Haley to be the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

McMaster and his wife Peggy will be in Charleston Thursday, attending the preview of the 35th annual Southeastern Wildlife Exposition.

Trump’s visit to Boeing comes a week after Trump expressed support for the U.S. Export-Import Bank, which helps Boeing sell planes overseas, according to Senate Democrats who met with the president.

His trip also would follow Wednesday’s scheduled unionization vote for Boeing’s North Charleston production employees.

Trump’s relationship with Boeing has been rocky.

During the campaign, he predicted the airplane builder would move U.S. jobs to China. He also criticized Boeing for what he said were two excessively priced Boeing 747s that the company is building for the president to use as Air Force 1.

Trump likely is stopping in Charleston before he heads to Florida for the third weekend in a row.

Charleston International Airport is almost exactly half way between the White House in Washington, D.C., and Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, his new self-proclaimed winter White House.