Trump plans to address auto workers in Detroit during second GOP debate
While other Republican candidates are attending the Sept. 27 event in California, Trump instead plans to address more than 500 autoworkers, plumbers, electricians and pipefitters, the adviser said. The group will likely include workers from the United Auto Workers union, which is on strike against the big three automakers in the nation’s Rust Belt. The Trump adviser added that it was unclear whether the former president would make it to the strike line.
The New York Times was the first to report the Detroit speech.
Trump’s campaign also created a radio ad, airing on sports-themed and rock stations in Detroit and Toledo, intended to portray him as being on the side of striking auto workers, the adviser said.
The speech to the strikers is a complicated needle for Trump to thread, given that his administration has adopted policies hated by unions, weakened the National Labor Relations Board and approved legislation focused on cutting the corporate tax. companies. On Truth Social, Trump posted Friday that pushing to build electric cars is a “disaster for both the United Auto Workers and the American consumer.” He added: “If this happens, United Auto workers will be wiped out, along with every other auto worker in the United States. »
The former president also criticized UAW President Shawn Fain, saying Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that Fain is letting the strikers down.
“Autoworkers are being betrayed by their leaders,” Trump said.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
Washington
