Trump Again Claims No President Has Done More Than He Has in First Nine Months

Freeland — President Donald Trump took credit for rescuing an already revived automobile industry and told his supporters their votes "volition relieve America" as he roared back into Michigan for his first campaign rally in the state since the COVID-19 pandemic striking.

"After the last administration most killed the U.South. auto industry, I saved the U.South. car manufacture," said Trump, making a questionable claim as he took direct aim at Autonomous presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden.

After winning Michigan by 10,704 votes in 2016, the Republican president is hoping for a echo on Nov. iii. Much of his spoken communication Th nighttime exterior of an drome hangar in Freeland focused on what he considered his accomplishments related to the state and criticisms of Democratic leaders in office here.

The president called on Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to "open up up your state" and labeled her a "liberal hypocrite" since her husband sought to get his boat launched during the pandemic in May. Whitmer has said the request was a failed effort at humor.

"No president has done for Michigan what President Trump has done for Michigan," said Trump at one point, before adding, "I am going to remember Michigan."

The president spoke for an hour and 15 minutes earlier a crowd estimated at near 5,000. The result occurred every bit Michigan limits outdoor public gatherings to 100 people to stalk the spread of COVID-nineteen. However, there are exemptions for First Amendment-protected events.

Democrats criticized Trump'due south rally in Michigan. Earlier in the week, Whitmer chosen the thought of the president "descending" on the land to gather people who may or may not be wearing masks "distressing to say the least." But Whitmer's role has said the governor doesn't brand "individual enforcement decisions" when information technology comes to her executive orders.

U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Flint, as well slammed the president over the rally on Thursday morning.

"He's willing to put his supporters at risk if it helps him get re-elected," Kildee said.

Whitmer on Thursday likewise attacked Trump for reportedly downplaying the coronavirus in his comments to the American people ahead of the March outbreak across the United States.

"I think the biggest enemy of the state right at present is the misinformation that'southward coming out of the head of country. And the biggest threat to the American people is the American president right now," she said.

Michigan had confirmed 109,519 cases of COVID-nineteen and six,569 deaths linked to the virus as of Thursday. The state considers fourscore,678 Michiganians "recovered."

Thursday's Trump event symbolizes the president'due south recognition that the country needs to reopen its economic system and needs to do information technology in a "healthy and rubber way," said Ronna McDaniel, a Michigan native who is chairwoman of the Republican National Committee.

"That's the reality for most Americans and most Michiganders that we tin't bunker down in our basement forever. We all accept to go back to work," said McDaniel, criticizing Biden, who held smaller events on the campaign trail in contempo weeks.

On Wed, Biden spoke to a pocket-sized group outside a United Auto Workers hall in Warren and participated in a backyard conversation with iv marriage members.

Earlier Thursday, hundreds of people were in a lengthy line outside the airport hangar in Freeland four hours before the president'south voice communication was scheduled to brainstorm. As they gathered, they went through temperature screenings and were told by campaign volunteers that masks would exist required. But many people inside the venue weren't wearing masks.

Dawn Beattie of Eastpointe distributed manus sanitizer, telling attendees, "Compliments of the Don," referring to the man of affairs who's now president.

Michigan is crucial for both Biden and Trump in Nov. 3's election. In 2016, Trump became the first GOP presidential nominee to bear Michigan since 1988.

Biden led the Republican incumbent 47% to 42% in a poll of 600 likely Michigan voters released by The Detroit News and WDIV on Tuesday. The poll had a margin of error of plus-minus iv percent points.

Trump won Saginaw County, where Freeland is located, by 1 percentage point in 2016 against Democrat Hillary Clinton. Two years later on, Whitmer beat out Republican Neb Schuette by near 8 points in the county on her way to condign governor.

The president fabricated sure to emphasize how he has delivered for Michigan, saying he obtained "millions of dollars" to salve the Soo Locks. Congress approved an initial $75 million to modernize the Soo Locks subsequently Trump fabricated it a priority, and the president proposed another $123 one thousand thousand in this year'due south budget before the pandemic struck.

Trump also mentioned his major disaster proclamation afterward the failure of Edenville Dam in May. He noted the dam was owned past a individual company, Boyce Hydro.

"I think nosotros're going to accept to sue the donkey off the company," Trump said.

Merchandise policy barbs

Merchandise policy promises to be a key issue in the fall entrada, and it was a focus of Trump's speech. In January, he signed the The states-Mexico-Canada Agreement, a replacement for the North American Free Trade Agreement. Under the new deal, automakers volition have to produce cars with 75% of parts originating from the U.S., Canada or Mexico to qualify for duty-free treatment, up from NAFTA'due south 62.v% level.

But when the president talked about the auto manufacture, he tended to exaggerate his contributions to its success.

"On Nov. iii, Michigan, you better vote for me I got you so many damn auto plants," Trump argued at one point.

But the land has lost one assembly plant and two parts facilities during his presidency. It picked up at least one autonomous vehicle-making plant.

General Motors Co. has closed its Warren transmission factory as part of its new United Automobile Workers union contract but revived it this year every bit a place to industry masks for the COVID-19 pandemic. Ford Motor Co. is closing its Romeo engine plant every bit role of its UAW contract. Fiat Chrysler closed a Detroit assembly plant in 2017.

FCA is building a new Jeep plant in Detroit on the site of the Mack Artery Engine Complex, which has two facilities that are being converted into a new mill for manufacturing Grand Cherokee sport utility vehicles. The Middle for Automotive Research doesn't consider it to exist a new mill on net.

In 2019, the Google cocky-driving affiliate Waymo LLC too opened a Detroit constitute refashioned from a factory on the campus of American Beam & Manufacturing near Hamtramck.

At one point during his speech, Trump hedged his linguistic communication, complaining he doesn't get credit for factories that expand.

While the president took credit for saving the auto industry, it initially revived during the Obama assistants in the wake of the Great Recession. President Barack Obama forced GM and Chrysler into bankruptcy and loaned them and their lending arms virtually $55 billion later on President George W. Bush loaned them $25 billion near the cease of 2008.

Auto sales recovered during the Obama assistants along with the economy that grew at a 2% charge per unit — which Trump criticized as too slow during his 2016 campaign.

The president noted in his talk that he has cutting regulations to help spur business concern and keep the economy growing.

When Trump took office, auto sales already had grown for six consecutive years under Obama. Sales expanded for some other year in 2017 to 17.55 million units before gradually failing in 2018 and 2019. Only sales have remained above 17 one thousand thousand units for five consecutive years, including the first three years of the Trump presidency — a historic industry achievement.

On Wednesday, Biden unveiled his own plan to financially penalize companies that move jobs overseas and provide a revenue enhancement credit for those who invest inside the country'southward borders. Biden told a group of union workers in Detroit that Trump was allowing the country to go to "Hell in a handbasket economically."

"We're non doing a thing about it," Biden said of Trump's assistants.

Biden's campaign has also criticized Trump for failing to deliver on promises to increment auto manufacturing jobs. In Michigan, the number of auto manufacturing jobs has been lower each month of this year than information technology was in December 2016, earlier Trump took office, co-ordinate to the U.South. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Just the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement that recently went into effect was substantially a full employment human activity for the automobile manufacture, said Peter Navarro, Trump's managing director of trade and manufacturing policy.

"Joe Biden is a plagiarist," added the merchandise policy adviser, arguing the former vice president'south new plan for penalizing companies that movement jobs overseas mirrors plans advanced past Trump.

James gets a boost

During the Freeland speech, Trump repeatedly touted Republican U.S. Senate candidate John James and slammed his opponent, U.Southward. Sen. Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Township, saying nobody knows him. James spoke for 20 minutes before the president arrived.

The Peters campaign responded by arguing that "No Democratic senator has passed and enacted more laws during the Trump administration than U.Due south. Senator Gary Peters."

Don Schark, l, was 1 of the hundreds in the crowd outside the airport hangar on Thursday afternoon to see Trump. He is from the Saginaw area and works in the skilled trades. He said about 80% of the people in his line of work support the president'south re-election, and he criticized past presidents' stances toward Mainland china.

"We're exporting our jobs to a state that doesn't believe in what you do for a living, freedom of speech communication," Schark told a reporter. "They don't believe in journalism They don't believe in anything that nosotros believe in.

"This is like the first candidate in 20 years that actually mentions this stuff."

Trump last made a stop in Michigan on May 21, when he visited Ford Motor Co.'s Rawsonville Components Plant. His son, Donald Trump Jr., will participate Tuesday in an event in Harrison Township.

cmauger@detroitnews.com

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Source: https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2020/09/10/president-donald-trump-freeland-michigan-campaign-rally/3460511001/

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