Former President Donald Trump delivered a chest-thumping speech to autoworkers in Michigan – where he vowed to “dismantle the corrupt power structure” and to rebuild America’s “industrial bedrock”
His free-wheeling speech – which generated huge applause and chants of “Trump! Trump! Trump!” – saw the former POTUS focus on workers and jobs. But he also fired shots at Biden, China and the “corrupt power structure that has feasted on the suffering of the American autoworker”.
It came as the Republican presidential candidates were gathered on the debate stage in California. Trump, however, was situated over 2,000 miles from the event, in the suburbs of Detroit.
His visit served a dual purpose: not only did it help maintain Trump’s visibility in the media as he bypasses the debate, but it also formed part of his strategy to reach out to union-affiliated voters and undercut Joe Biden’s position during the UAW strike.
He delivered an address to a non-unionized supplier within the automotive industry, with the aim of securing the support of working-class voters. He told them American workers are “getting screwed” and that Biden only came to Michigan after Trump announced he was going to be there.
The former president also criticized Biden for his support for “electric vehicles,” saying this would cause the collapse of the auto industry. He said electric vehicles “don’t go far enough” are “too expensive” and aren’t selling”.
“What’s bad for the environment is having vehicles that don’t go,” he added. And also said: “Crooked Joe is siding with the lefties” who will “destroy our country.”
Taking aim at the ‘swamp’, he said: “Together we will dismantle the corrupt power structure that has feasted on the suffering of the American autoworker.” And he slammed the “political class” that has “taken control of this country for their own enrichment and selfish purposes – stealing your wealth and stealing your labor, while shipping off our best and brightest to die”.
Turning his ire on the sitting president, Trump said: “How can they go with this guy? He can’t find his way off a stage.
“How the hell does it work that you can’t find your way off a stage. But he can’t”
He said Biden has done a worse job than the “five worst presidents added up” and vowed to “get rid of the cheaters and scammers”.
“Together we will dismantle the corrupt power structure that has feasted on the suffering of the American autoworker,” said Trump. He then slammed the “political class” that “have taken control of this country for their own enrichment and selfish purposes – stealing your wealth and stealing your labor, while shipping off our best and brightest to die”.
His free-wheeling speech also saw a quick gear shift, where he briefly touched on gender issues. To huge applause, Trump said: “Sex changes for children will banned”. The former POTUS said the “country has gone insane” regarding the “mutilation” of children.
Changing lanes again, and looking back to his time as President, he told the audience: “I rebuilt the entire military. The entire United States military.
And, switching back to the main theme of his speech, he vowed that “we will rebuild the industrial bedrock of this country”, telling workers that the rusted factories will “be in Beijing, not here in Michigan”.
You can see how Trump’s speech unfolded in our live blog below.
