President Donald Trump on Sept. 27 addressed current and former members of the United Automobile Workers (UAW) union in Detroit, Michigan.
President Trump spoke at Drake Enterprises in Clinton Township, a northern suburb of Detroit. His appearance in Michigan comes amid a strike by the UAW that has carried on for 12 days now. Drake Enterprises is unaffiliated with the UAW.
Speaking on policy, President Trump contrasted himself with President Joe Biden, arguing that his competitor was a proponent of “ultra left-wing globalism” and that his policies would end in American auto jobs being shipped to China, Mexico, and other foreign nations.
“I want a future that protects American labor, not foreign labor,” President Trump said near the top of his remarks.
Citing the ongoing strikes, President Trump argued that President Biden’s push to mandate electric vehicles would lead to American manufacturers, and American jobs, being pushed out of the market.
Specifically, President Trump referenced a proposed standard by President Biden’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that would see the majority of new cars on the market required to be electric within 10 years—despite the fact that the U.S. currently doesn’t have the infrastructure for such a system.
President Trump argued instead that Americans should be given a choice, and that American automakers should be allowed to stick with the business they know.
“You’re all on picket lines and everything but it doesn’t make a damn bit of difference what you get because in two years, you’re all going to be out of business,” he said. “Crooked Joe is siding with the left-wing crazies who will destroy automobile manufacturing, and will destroy our country itself.”
President Trump pointed to his record on auto manufacturing during his first term in office, saying that he had “saved” it.
Biden, Trump Compete for Michigan
Michigan is one of several states that pushed President Trump over the edge to victory in 2016, and it will be a crucial state for President Joe Biden’s electoral hopes in 2024.
In 2016, President Trump won the state along with nearby Wisconsin, propelling him to victory over Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
President Biden was declared the winner of both in 2020 amid a litany of allegations of widespread election fraud in the states.
Now, both presidents are vying for the support of Michigan, considered a crucial swing-state, in the upcoming election.
President Trump’s visit to Detroit comes a day after President Biden, who has described himself as “the most pro-union president in American history,” made headlines by joining UAW strikers on a picket line.
President Biden, in a comment indicative of his approach, told strikers, “You deserve a significant raise.”
President Trump derided his rival’s claim of support for unions as nonsense, citing President Biden’s past support of the foreign trade deals that have long been a key target for President Trump.
“Joe Biden claims to be ‘the most pro-union president in history,'” he said. “Nonsense.
“His entire career has been an act of economic treason and union destruction,” President Trump charged.
“He’s destroyed unions, shipping millions of American jobs overseas, while personally taking money from foreign nations hand over fist,” he added, a reference to allegations being explored by a House impeachment inquiry that the Bidens received millions from foreign sources including from China.
President Trump also expressed support for the ongoing strike, but said it would all be for naught if President Biden was allowed to continue with his globalist policies in office.
“To the striking workers, I support you in your goal for fair wages and greater stability, and I truly hope you get a fair deal for yourselves and your families,” President Trump said. “But if your union leaders will not demand that crooked Joe repeal his electric vehicle mandate immediately, then it doesn’t matter what hourly wages you get. It just doesn’t make a damn bit of difference, because in two-three years, you will not have one job in this state.”
He added, “And you’ve seen it happen before, you’ve seen what happened where massive percentages of your industry went to other countries like Mexico, like China, like South Korea, like Japan.
“In other words, your current negotiations don’t mean as much as you think. I mean, I watch you out there with the pickets, but I don’t think you’re picketing for the right thing.”
UAW President Declines Meeting With Trump
It seems that UAW leadership, for its part, is unlikely to cast its lot with President Trump.
In a Sept. 27 interview with CNN, UAW president Shawn Fain was asked if he would consider meeting with President Trump during his visit to Detroit.
Mr. Fain replied that he saw “no point” in doing so.
“I don’t think the man has any bit of care about what our workers stand for, what the working class stands for,” Mr. Fain said. “He serves a billionaire class, and that’s what’s wrong with this country.”
On Tuesday, Mr. Fain stood alongside President Biden as he addressed workers picketing outside a General Motors facility in Belleville, Michigan.
President Trump has argued that President Biden’s push to grow the electric vehicle market at the expense of the gas-powered vehicle market will ultimately harm American autoworkers.
Citing this, President Trump argued that the UAW should endorse him—a call that received cheers from members of the audience.
In an ad released the same day, President Biden’s campaign shot back, contending that President Trump allowed plants in Michigan to close during his four years in office.
From The Epoch Times
