
At his first campaign event since a reported assassination attempt, former President Donald Trump returned to the stage in Flint, Michigan, vowing to revitalize the state’s auto industry. Speaking to thousands at the Dort Financial Arena, Trump used familiar rhetoric, warning that a loss in the upcoming November election would devastate auto jobs in Michigan, a crucial battleground state.
“If we don’t win, there will be zero car jobs, manufacturing jobs,” Trump declared, emphasizing that his proposed tariffs would bring back auto plants and manufacturing, though he provided few specifics on how these policies would work.
Trump’s lengthy answers often meandered across topics. For instance, when asked by a Ford employee about threats to manufacturing jobs, Trump veered into discussions on nuclear war, climate change, and trade policy, eventually circling back to China and the COVID-19 pandemic.
He also made vague promises, claiming that his tariffs would reverse decades of decline in the auto industry, bringing “so many auto plants” to Michigan, though details on how this would be accomplished were sparse.
At one point, Trump recounted the alleged assassination attempt on Sunday at his West Palm Beach golf course, praising the Secret Service and remarking on the need for increased protection. He briefly recounted this while also discussing energy policy, during which he made a confusing comment, conflating Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan with the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. He quickly attempted to correct himself, tying the discussion back to his complaints about the Biden administration’s policies in Afghanistan.
Trump’s visit to Michigan marked his third town hall-style event in as many weeks, a format his campaign has leaned into recently. The state is seen as pivotal for both campaigns, as Trump narrowly won it in 2016 but lost it by a wider margin in 2020. His running mate, Senator JD Vance, held a separate event in Western Michigan on the same day, signaling the importance of the state in the upcoming election.
Despite the promises of revitalizing Michigan’s auto industry, critics pointed out that Trump’s speeches often lacked detail. And when we say critics, we mean the New York Times. Do we need to say any more?