Trump makes wild claims about revitalizing auto industry at Michigan rally
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Source: Detroit Free Press
FREELAND, Mich. — President Donald Trump made wildly inaccurate claims at a rally outside Saginaw on Thursday night, suggesting he has revitalized auto manufacturing in the state when it actually lost jobs even before coronavirus hit in March.
"We brought you a lot of car plants, we brought you a lot ... and we’re going to bring you a lot more," Trump began his speech at MBS International Airport in Freeland.
But only one new major assembly facility, a Jeep plant on Detroit's east side, has been announced during Trump's term, while General Motors underwent a divisive 40-day strike last year and announced the idling of four U.S. plants, including two in Michigan. One of those, Detroit-Hamtramck, has since been revived and is being retooled to build electric cars and SUVs. Warren transmission was revived most recently to make face masks, though its future is uncertain...............
Trump also said that after speaking with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, officials announced "five new car companies are coming to Michigan," but there has been no such announcement that the Free Press is aware of. In March 2019, a day after Trump spoke to Abe by phone, Toyota announced a $749 million investment in plants in Alabama, Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee and West Virginia, but none in Michigan........................
Read more: https://www.freep.com/story/news/politics/elections/2020/09/10/trump-michigan-rally-auto-claims/5768672002/
Trump keeps bragging about imaginary auto plants in swing states
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/09/10/trump-keeps-bragging-about-imaginary-auto-plants-swing-states/
September 10, 2020 at 2:00 a.m. CDT
“Many plants are being built right now — auto plants — in Michigan, just like I said. They’re being built in Ohio, they’re being built in South Carolina, North Carolina, they’re being built all over and expanded at a level that we’ve never seen before. Cause I said to Japan, Germany and others, ‘Sorry, you’ve got to come here and build plants, otherwise we’re going to have to make it very tough on you with tariffs.’ ”
...........As for his claim of unprecedented investment, Dziczek said: “In total, there were over $64.2 billion in automaker manufacturing investment announcements in the United States between 2013-2016 (previous three-year period) vs. $40.0B between 2017-2020.”
In other words, not unprecedented.
We sought comment from the White House but did not get a response.
The Pinocchio Test
Only five new auto plants have been announced since Trump took office, and investment in auto manufacturing was higher under the last three years of Barack Obama’s presidency than the first three of Trump’s. Three of the four states name-checked by Trump do not have new plants. And there’s no evidence that Trump’s threat of tariffs led to more auto investment.
Trump earns Four Pinocchios.
Four Pinocchios
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