Trump at Michigan rally: “I’ve done more for you than your parents ever could”
In a speech in Michigan, President Trump praised his accomplishments during his time in office, saying, “I’ve done more for you than your parents.”
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump, in a speech at a General Motors facility outside Detroit less than 100 days after the midterm elections, told Michigan autoworkers that he has done more to improve their lives than his own parents.
“I’ve done more for you than your parents, okay?” President Trump said, speaking at GM’s automotive testing facility in Milford, Michigan. “Your parents are good people. I don’t mean to bash your parents, but I’ve been better to you than your parents were. I can tell you that, and they’ll agree with me.”
President Trump’s comments came as he criticized United Auto Workers Union President Sean Fein for supporting Democrat Joe Biden and later Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election. “If they were elected, there would be no auto industry today,” President Trump said.
“I don’t know what happened to this guy. Somebody said he was fired,” Trump said of Fein, who remains UAW president. “But what I can tell you is that it’s the people that matter. Those people love Trump.”
President Trump credited tariffs on foreign cars for strengthening the US auto industry. He said GM’s truck and SUV production will increase by 20% in 2026.
However, preliminary seasonally adjusted numbers for June released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics show that employment in autos and auto parts is down about 4% nationwide compared to December 2024, the month before Trump took office. In Michigan, total manufacturing employment decreased by 2.5% during the same period.
Mr. Trump has long touted his support among working-class union members, including autoworkers, who voted for him in reaction to the union’s Democratic support. With strong support from blue-collar white voters, he was able to win Michigan in the 2024 election, four years after losing the state to Biden.
President Trump reveals purchase of 250 Escalades for presidential motorcade
In a 65-minute speech, President Trump denounced Democrats as extreme “communists” and claimed the United States had “the greatest year we’ve ever had as a nation.” He also revealed that the administration recently ordered 250 Cadillac Escalades for the presidential motorcade.
“We look sharp in the Escalade. Our players are very spoiled. They like the Escalade, and so do I,” Trump said. “They literally made 250 of them and it was about time.”
It was not immediately clear how much the government spent on purchasing the vehicles or when they would join the convoy.
President Trump used his visit to Michigan to boost the candidacy of Mike Rogers, the state’s likely Republican Senate candidate who narrowly lost to Democratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin in the 2024 election. Mr. Rogers is likely to face either Representative Haley Stevens or Representative Abdul El-Sayed as the Democratic Senate candidate.
Michigan’s party primary is August 4th.
Mr. Rogers, a former Republican congressman, said after welcoming Mr. Trump and other Michigan Republican candidates to the stage: “Mr. President, what if there was a senator who cared as much about manufacturing as you do, especially manufacturing in Michigan?”
Mr. Rogers later added, “Mr. President, when I get back there, if we haven’t done it already, we’re going to pass the SAVE Act.” The bill is the president’s long-standing bill to overhaul voting in federal elections.
Contributors: Paul Egan and Tristan McFolley, detroit free press
