In 2016, Trump promised to protect a manufacturing plant in Warren, Michigan. It closed in 2019.
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden went back to Warren, Michigan on Wednesday to remind voters of President Donald Trump’s broken promise in 2016 that the town wouldn’t lose any manufacturing plants.
Despite that vow, in August of 2019, the General Motors plant in Warren closed.
“I bet the workers around here weren’t all that comforted by Trump’s empty promises,” Biden said. “Under Donald Trump, Michigan lost auto jobs even before COVID hit. And what about offshoring? Has Trump delivered on stopping companies from shipping American jobs overseas? You already know the answer to that. Of course not.”
As the general election nears, Biden has focused much of his attention on Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan, appealing to blue collar workers by promoting American industry. His remarks on Wednesday focused on investing in domestic manufacturing, bringing jobs back from overseas and the auto industry.
“The American people are smart, honest, decent, hardworking, we expect our president to be straight with us to do what he or she says they’re going to do. So let’s look at the reality of Donald Trump’s economy,” Biden said. “He’s on track to be the first president since Herbert Hoover and the Great Depression to see the number of jobs in our economy go down, not up, while serving as the president.”
He said the economy has hemorrhaged jobs during Trump’s time in office and the US trade deficit is at an all time high.
Biden opened his remarks by addressing the breaking news that Trump admitted, on tape, to Bob Woodward that he knew how deadly the coronavirus was in February, but continued to purposefully downplay the risks of the virus.
“Experts say that if he had acted just one week sooner 36,000 people would have been spared and if he acted two weeks sooner back in March, 54,000 lives would have been spared in March and April alone,” Biden said.
To rectify the massive hit the American economy has taken during the pandemic, Biden said he would prioritize American manufacturing and job creation. Part of that plan centers around imposing a tax penalty for companies that offshore their jobs to other countries.
“Just like there are consequences for offshoring jobs there are rewards and incentives for creating good paying jobs here at home. Today I’m announcing my new Made in America Tax Credit, a 10% advanceable tax credit for companies that invest in the United States and American workers,” Biden said.
Biden also pledged to create a “Made in America” office within the White House Office of Management and Budget, to ensure government projects use materials and resources made stateside.
“Today the US government spends about $600 billion dollars of taxpayer money on federal contracts,” Biden explained. “That money should go to support American jobs and American businesses.”
Biden also made sure to highlight the importance of unions and pledged to support them if he is elected president.
“You’re going to have the best, most union friendly president in the history of the United States,” he said.
Elle Meyers Elle Meyers is a Congressional Reporter for COURIER where she covers national politics and lawmakers on Capitol Hill. Previously Elle was a beat reporter in Montgomery County, Maryland and she is a native of Portland.
