“Trump in Michigan: Claims Auto Industry is Being ‘Ripped Away Like Candy from a Baby’—What Does This Mean for You?”

Former President Donald Trump promised to put tariffs on foreign products in place and bring jobs back to Michigan if elected this fall during a campaign stop in West Michigan on Friday, Sept. 27.

Speaking to a crowd of about 1,500 people, Trump delivered remarks on Michigan’s auto industry, the economy, and immigration during the event held at FALK Production, a metal panel manufacturer based at 1782 Northridge Dr. NW in Walker, located about 15 minutes outside of Grand Rapids.

The Republican presidential nominee was slated to make two back-to-back campaign stops in the key battleground state of Michigan on Friday, with just 39 days to go until the presidential election.

Trump blamed President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for destroying Michigan’s auto industry by shipping jobs overseas and implementing an “electric vehicle mandate,” something the Harris campaign has denied.

The Harris campaign has said there is no EV mandate and that she wouldn’t support one.

“Your auto industry is being taken from you like candy from a baby,” Trump told the crowd Friday.

Trump said he would save Michigan’s auto industry by implementing a 15% Made-in-America tax break for businesses that make their products on U.S. soil and imposing large tariffs on products shipped from other countries. The Harris campaign is calling this idea the “Trump tax,” claiming it will cost Americans thousands of dollars a year.

“Michigan will be hotter than it ever was in its heyday,” Trump said. “If you manufacture your product here, you drop down to 15%. It’ll be among the most competitive in the world. Then I’m imposing tariffs on your competition. So now you won’t be able to worry about somebody coming in and stealing your plant, stealing your business, and losing your workers.

“Your car industry will be as big, rather quickly, as it was 60 years ago.”

Right off the bat, Trump blasted Harris’ handling of the border as Biden’s “border czar,” claiming the vice president’s lax border control has allowed thousands of illegal immigrants to flood the country. He claimed other countries like Venezuela have been “shipping their criminals and drug dealers to the U.S.” and “turning small towns into blighted refugee camps.”

Trump said Harris will be held accountable for her actions on Election Day. “What they’ve done to our country is just inexcusable,” he said. “Nobody who’s allowed this to happen to our country is fit to be president of the United States.”

Trump also encouraged attendees to get out and vote, whether that be absentee or in-person. Absentee ballots became available to Michigan voters starting Thursday, Sept. 26.

“The only way we’re going to lose is if they cheat,” the former president told attendees.

Trump was joined onstage in Walker by former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who urged Michigan voters to ignore his name on the Nov. 5 ballot and cast their votes for Trump. Kennedy blasted the Democratic Party for its legal efforts to keep him on the ballot after he dropped out, accusing them of trying to take votes away from Trump.

Kennedy, who said he has been a registered Democrat for his whole life, said he was previously convinced by Democrats that Trump was bad for America because they thought MAGA (the “Make America Great Again” movement synonymous with Trump) represented racism and misogyny.

But Kennedy said he has since opened his eyes and now understands MAGA stands for the prosperity of the middle class, good jobs, and the accessibility of the American Dream.

“He’s not a tyrant, he’s not a monster,” Kennedy said during his 30-minute speech. “He just wants the best for the United States of America.”

U.S. Senate candidate and former Congressman Mike Rogers also took the stage to support Trump, echoing concerns that the country is worse off under Democratic leadership. He blamed his opponent, U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Holly, for supporting legislation that “doubled down on EV mandates” and not protecting women’s sports.

“We cannot allow them another four years of giving us higher grocery prices, higher gas prices, higher energy prices,” he said.