Former President Donald Trump held a rally at a Michigan auto parts factory on Wednesday to appeal to the voters who helped him win the White House in 2016. This rally took place one day after President Joe Biden showed his support for striking United Automobile Workers on a picket line.
While Biden expressed his support for the UAW strikers’ demand for a 40% pay raise, Trump, during his appearance at a nonunion factory, repeatedly sought the endorsement of UAW President Shawn Fain, using his first name to connect personally. However, Trump did not back any of the union’s contract demands.
Trump spoke highly of Fain, despite the uncertainty around how many UAW members attended the rally. Fain, who stood alongside Biden during his visit to the picket line, has not endorsed any candidate and emphasized that the endorsement must be earned. Fain has made it clear in the past that the UAW would never support Trump due to his anti-union policies during his time in office.
Trump took the opportunity to create a divide between rank-and-file workers and their leaders by focusing on the issue of electric vehicles. He repeatedly criticized electric vehicles as a threat to American car companies and workers, disagreeing with the administration’s clean-air proposal to have 2 out of 3 new cars sold be electric by 2032. Trump claimed that this proposal would harm Detroit.
Trump urged the crowd to have their union leaders endorse him, promising to take care of the rest. The UAW argues that the transition to electric vehicles is inevitable and driven by market forces, and they aim to ensure that zero-emission vehicles are produced by American workers earning union wages.
This appearance by Trump outside of Detroit, simultaneous with a Republican primary debate in California, sends a clear message that he is focusing on a potential rematch with Biden in 2024, rather than his lower-polling rivals.
Trump confidently claimed a significant polling lead over his closest rivals, suggesting that everyone else was vying for job positions in a second Trump administration.
Drake Enterprises, the venue for Trump’s speech, is a nonunion shop located in Clinton Township, north of Detroit. The company manufactures gearshift levers for heavy-duty trucks and components for General Motors and Ford. Nathan Stemple, the company’s president, confirmed that his business is not affiliated with a union.
Prior to Trump taking the stage, attendees, including union members and supporters, were present at the factory. Despite holding signs in support of Trump, not all of them were union members. The UAW confirmed that the Trump campaign did not actively try to recruit attendees through UAW locals.
Regarding Trump’s rally being held at a nonunion business, Fain expressed his disappointment, highlighting the irony of the situation. He criticized Trump’s lack of support during a strike against GM in 2019 and made it clear that he had no intention of meeting with the former president during his visit.
Throughout his presidency, Trump aimed to separate rank-and-file union members from their leaders, who typically endorse Democratic candidates. His efforts resulted in winning approximately 4 out of 10 votes from union households in the 2020 election, according to exit polls.
After Biden joined a picket line, Trump issued a statement predicting that autoworker jobs would disappear if Biden’s policies prevailed. Trump continued this message during his rally, accusing Biden of “economic treason.”
The Biden campaign responded by emphasizing that Trump prioritized making billionaires richer instead of supporting the middle class. They dismissed Trump’s rally as an insincere attempt to gain support from working Americans.
Marick Masters, a labor issues expert at Wayne State University, acknowledged that the transition to electric vehicles caused economic uncertainty for autoworkers. Trump capitalized on this insecurity, and his message resonated with a wide range of workers.
Stemple expressed concerns that a rapid switch to electric vehicles would negatively impact his family company, as they primarily manufacture gearshift levers that are unnecessary for electric vehicles. Jason Walsh, from the BlueGreen Alliance, countered Trump’s claim that the transition to electric vehicles would lead to job loss in the U.S., stating that Biden’s administration aims to revitalize American auto manufacturing and bring jobs back from China.
Trump’s record with autoworkers is a mixed bag. He applied pressure on automakers to keep factories in the United States rather than moving production to Mexico. Auto manufacturing jobs initially increased during his first year in office but later leveled off and declined due to the pandemic. Under Biden, auto jobs have surpassed their highest level during Trump’s presidency.
The location of Trump’s speech in Macomb County holds political significance as it was the home of the original “Reagan Democrats,” a group of blue-collar voters who abandoned the party that had traditionally supported their economic interests in favor of the racially divisive messaging of the Republican Party.
This article was originally published in The New York Times.
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