Former President Donald Trump vowed to keep autoworker jobs in Detroit as he focused on the economy and cars in a town hall before Michigan voters Friday night.
Trump appeared at the town hall in Warren alongside Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), where he spoke about tariffs on foreign-imported cars with a goal of retaining production within the United States.
“Year by year, all the time, we’re losing our companies that make our cars, make the autos. A lot of them are going to Mexico now, and it’s Mexico through China because China owns the factories; they’re building big factories. They wouldn’t have done it with me. … They think they’re gonna make the cars and sell them in and close up Detroit, close up everything in this area,” Trump said.
“It’s not going to happen because we’re going to put very heavy tariffs on those cars coming across the border, and we’re not gonna let that happen,” Trump concluded.
Michigan is known for being an auto worker hub. Ford Motor Company is one of the largest employers in the state.
Trump also touched on electric vehicle mandates, a key issue among Republican voters who prefer gas or hybrid alternatives. The Biden administration has been shifting the car industry toward phasing in electric vehicles.
Trump also chuckled as Blackburn had arguably the line of the night, albeit one cribbed from Michigan Senate candidate Mike Rogers.
“The most expensive vehicle you drive in 2024 is the grocery cart,” Blackburn said. “And Donald Trump is going to get those grocery prices down.”
As @MikeRogersForMI says, the most expensive vehicle that Americans drive in 2024 is the grocery cart.
President Donald Trump will get those grocery prices down! pic.twitter.com/lxjuK0roBr
— Marsha Blackburn (@VoteMarsha) September 28, 2024
Trump emphasized his “drill, baby, drill” initiative toward cheaper energy prices in response to a voter question about the rising cost of living.
Overall, Trump touched on critical voter issues without appearing to stray too far from the point in his Michigan campaign stop.
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Warren is a city in Macomb County, part of the Detroit metro area. Macomb County was the largest red-voting county in 2016 and 2020 and is a critical area for the Trump campaign to draw high turnout against overwhelmingly blue Detroit.
Trump faces an extremely close race in Michigan, a state that narrowly voted for him in 2016 but turned blue in 2020. He trails Vice President Kamala Harris in the RealClearPolitics polling average in the state, 49.1% to 47.3%.
