President Barack Obama stopped to stump for Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton at the University of Michigan.
Michigan and the auto industry wound up at the center of last day of the 2016 campaign as President Barack Obama stumped for Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton and her Republican rival, Donald Trump, addressed a late night rally in western Michigan.
Unsurprisingly, both discussed the economy and specifically the state of the automotive industry during their campaign stops.
“Now, think about where we were eight years ago,” Obama said during an appearance at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He noted that after two “long wars” the country was suffering through “the worst economy crisis in 80 years.”
Obama noted his policies turned the crisis into a recovery and helped grow 15.5 million new jobs, many of those in the auto industry, which was really struggling at the start of his presidency.
“We saw an auto industry that was flat on its back roar its way back to break new records brought the unemployment rate in Michigan below the national average, and across the nation, cut the unemployment rate in half,” he said, adding that last year, incomes went up faster than any time in 30 years; poverty went down faster than any time in 30 years. Twenty million Americans have health insurance that didn’t have it before.
He also questioned Trump’s business acumen, tying it directly to the auto industry.
Republican nominee Donald Trump made his final campaign stop in Grand Rapids, Michigan, last night.
(Trump, Ford Motor Co. tussle over Mexico. For more, Click Here.)
“And by the way, since we’re in Michigan, take a look at what he said about the auto industry. Now, remember, when I came into office, the industry was flat on its back. And we made some tough decisions to bring workers, management, everybody together in order to revitalize the industry. Just last summer, Donald Trump said “you could have let it go bankrupt, frankly,” Obama said.
“Now, I want you to understand, had the Big Three gone bankrupt, or two of the three gone bankrupt, that could have cost a million jobs across this country. That could have killed Michigan’s economy. But Donald Trump didn’t stop there. He actually suggested shipping Michigan’s auto jobs to states that don’t have unions so they can pay their workers less,” Obama said.
“And so he – I mean, he said this. Look it up. He said, ‘squeeze Michigan, make Michigan hurt. Then your autoworkers would have no choice but to accept less pay.’ That is not somebody who’s a champion for working people,” Obama said.
Trump, however, also talked about the auto industry during a post-midnight stop in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in a speech that combined his jabs at Obama, Hillary Clinton and Ford Motor Co., which has become one of GOP candidate’s favorite targets on the stump with a promise to see new factories and auto plants open in Michigan under a Trump presidency.
“I know my Michigan. I have so many friends here,” said Trump during his appearance. “I developed great relationships with Michigan” during his many stops in the state during the campaign.
(New Trump lashes out at Ford for Mexico plans. Click Here for the story.)
“I came to Michigan and they asked me to give a speech and I said, ‘Boy are you getting ripped off. Two weeks ago Ford announced it was moving all of small car production to Mexico,’” he said echoing a consistent theme during his campaign of criticizing Ford for moving its small car production to Mexico.
He’s also claimed that Ford may move all of its production jobs out of the U.S. – a charge Ford emphatically denied. Ford Motor Co. has invested heavily in the U.S. in the past several years and grown its hourly workforce in the U.S. in recent years.
After Bill Ford met privately with Trump to provide him with accurate information, Trump’s son, Eric, took Ford to task again with specious claims. Trump inaccurately claimed that jobs have been leaving Michigan in recent years, a theme he picked back up in Grand Rapids.
Trump added when he takes the White House, “I am going to be coming back to Michigan a lot – every time we open a new factory and automobile plant. I will come back a lot.
“If we win Michigan, we will win this historic election. They won’t be taking our jobs any longer. We will bring back your automobile industry,” he added.
(Ford takes the hit, but GM, other automakers expand in Mexico. Click Here for the story.)
“Crooked Hillary has been talking about it for a long time but she doesn’t know hope to do it. Today the American working class is going to strike back finally,” Trump said.