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<\/p>\nPresident Donald Trump offered a full-throated defence of his sweeping tariffs today, traveling to swing-state Michigan to push the case that he\u2019s boosted domestic manufacturing in hopes of countering fears about a weakening job market and still-rising prices that have squeezed American pocketbooks.<\/p>\n
Trump visited the factory floor of a Ford plant in Dearborn, where he viewed F-150s \u2014 the bestselling domestic vehicle in the US \u2014 at various stages of production. That included seeing how gas and hybrid models were built, as well as the all-gas Raptor model, designed for off-road use.<\/p>\n
While touring the plant, video posted by TMZ showed Trump making an obscene gesture at someone who was yelling at him from afar. White House spokesman Steven Cheung said “a lunatic was wildly screaming expletives in a complete fit of rage, and the president gave an appropriate and unambiguous response\u201d.<\/p>\n
The president chatted with assembly line workers as well as the automaker\u2019s executive chairman, Bill Ford, a descendent of Henry Ford. \u201cAll US automakers are doing great,” Trump said.<\/p>\n
He later gave a speech to the Detroit Economic Club that was meant to be focused on his economic policies but veered heavily to other topics as well. Those included falsely claiming to have won Michigan three times (he lost the state in 2020 to Joe Biden) and recalling the snakes that felled workers during US efforts to build the Panama Canal more than a century ago.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe results are in, and the Trump economic boom has officially begun,\u201d the president said at the MotorCity Casino. He argued that \u201cone of the biggest reasons for this unbelievable success has been our historic use of tariffs\u201d.<\/p>\n
Trump falsely insists tariffs haven’t increased costs<\/p>\n
The president said that tariffs were \u201coverwhelmingly\u201d paid by \u201cforeign nations and middlemen\u201d \u2014 even as economists say steep import taxes are simply passed from overseas manufactures to US consumers, helping exacerbate fears about the rising cost of living.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s tariffs that are making money for Michigan and the entire country,\u201d the president said, insisting that \u201cevery prediction the critics made about our tariff policy has failed to materialise\u201d.<\/p>\n
But voters remain worried about the state of the economy. The Michigan stop \u2014 his third trip to a swing state since last month to talk about his economic policies \u2014 followed a poor showing for Republicans in November\u2019s off-year elections in Virginia, New Jersey and elsewhere amid persistent concerns about kitchen table issues.<\/p>\n
The White House pledged after Election Day that Trump would hit the road more frequently to talk directly to the public about what he is doing to ease their financial fears. The president tried to drive that home today, but only amid lengthy asides.<\/p>\n
\u201cI go off teleprompter about 80% of the time, but isn\u2019t it nice to have a president who can go off teleprompter?\u201d he said, before mocking Biden, suggesting his predecessor gave short speeches and doing an impression that included a dramatic clearing of his throat.<\/p>\n
Trump promised to unveil a new \u201chealth care affordability framework\u201d later this week that he promised would lower the cost of care. He also pledged to soon offer more plans to help with affordability nationwide \u2014 even as he blamed Democrats for hyping up the issue.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of our top priorities of this mission is promoting greater affordability. Now, that\u2019s a word used by the Democrats,” Trump said. \u201cThey\u2019re the ones who caused the problem.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trump eased some auto tariffs<\/p>\n
Despite cheering tariffs, Trump has actually backed off the import taxes when it comes to the automobile sector. The president originally announced 25% tariffs on automobiles and auto parts, only to later relax those, seeking to provide domestic automakers some relief from seeing their production costs rise.<\/p>\n
Ford nonetheless announced in December that it was scrapping plans to make an electric F-150, despite pouring billions of dollars into broader electrification. That followed the Trump administration slashing targets to have half of all new vehicle sales be electric by 2030, eliminated EV tax credits and proposed weakening the emissions and gas mileage rules.<\/p>\n
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President Donald Trump listens to Corey Williams, Ford River Rouge Plant Manager, left, and Bill Ford, Executive Chairman of Ford, during a tour of the Ford River Rogue complex in Dearborn, Mich. (Source: Associated Press)<\/p>\n
Trump also suggested during the tour that a major North American trade pact he negotiated during his first term, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, was irrelevant and no longer necessary for the United States \u2014 though he provided few details.<\/p>\n
Known as the USMCA, it is up for review this year.<\/p>\n
Trump largely sidesteps Powell investigation<\/p>\n