WARREN, Mich.—Former President Donald Trump vowed to “reclaim America’s manufacturing power” during a pair of events in the key battleground state of Michigan.
The Republican presidential nominee spoke to thousands of autoworkers at two separate campaign stops on Sept. 27: a rally in Walker, Michigan, near Grand Rapids, followed by a town hall across the state in the Detroit suburb of Warren. At both events, Trump repeated past pledges to implement policies that would boost manufacturing and secure American jobs if he wins reelection Nov. 5.
“I want German car companies to be American car companies. I want them to build their cars in this country, not in Germany,” Trump said at the Walker rally. “I want Asian electronics companies to become Michigan electronics companies.
“I want every manufacturer that has left us to be filled with regret.”
To achieve this, Trump said he would impose tariffs on foreign imports and provide companies producing in the United States with the lowest energy costs, taxes, and regulatory burdens.
Ahead of Trump’s visit, Vice President Kamala Harris criticized Trump’s 2020 trade deal with Mexico and Canada, saying it facilitated the transfer of U.S. auto jobs to Mexico.
“American workers deserve a leader who keeps their promises and stands with workers when it matters, and as president, I will bring autoworker jobs back to this country and create an opportunity economy that strengthens manufacturing, unions, and builds prosperity and security for America’s future,” Harris said in a statement on Thursday. “I will always stand with the UAW.”
On Friday, upwards of 5,000 people filled the Macomb Community College fieldhouse in Warren, Michigan, for the former president’s visit.
About one-third of the attendees at Trump’s campaign event were autoworkers, based on a show of hands at the request of town hall moderator Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.).
Five people from the audience each asked Trump a question.
A young man named Nico from Plymouth, Michigan, said he had just been laid off from his job at Detroit Diesel, where he worked as an assembler. He wanted to know how Trump would stop the influx of illegal immigrants who are “hurting American workers.”
Stemming the tide of illegal immigration will help prevent them from competing for Americans’ jobs, Trump said.
Another audience member, Misti Robinette, 50, said she is a single mother of five children who has been building Ford Broncos and Rangers for 25 years.
As she stood onstage near the former president, she told him face-to-face: “If I’m gonna be honest with you, I was not ‘for’ you in the beginning. But my son told me I sounded ignorant, and I needed to educate myself on you.”
And after researching Trump, Robinette said she became one of his voters.
Robinette later told The Epoch Times that she had been told over and over that because she was a union worker, she needed to be a Democrat. She said she was now making up her own mind on who she thinks is best at leading her country.
Trump also addressed the Biden administration’s auto emissions rule, saying it hurts the American auto industry and affects consumers’ choices. He reiterated his past promise to scrap the rule if he’s reelected.
“Not everybody should have an electric car,” Trump said. “You’ve got to have alternatives and choices. That’s what the country is all about.”
An autoworker named Todd from Shelby, Michigan, lamented that 2,000 people are being laid off from his manufacturing plant within the next few weeks. He blames the current administration’s policies.
On a lighter note, he asked Trump to name his favorite American vehicles, which prompted the former president to recall his father Fred.
“My father was a great guy, I learned so much from him, and he loved Cadillac. His biggest luxury in life was to get a brand new, dark blue Cadillac every two years,” Trump said. “My father liked Cadillacs, so that’s good enough for me.”
