Donald Trump proposed a policy on Thursday that would give a tax break on car loan interest if he is re-elected in November.
The former president made the announcement at the Detroit Economic Club in the swing state of Michigan, which is home to nearly 19 percent of the American automobile industry and has a heavy union presence.
“If you vote for Trump, you will see a mass exodus of manufacturing jobs from Mexico to Michigan, from Shanghai to Sterling Heights. And from Beijing to right here in beautiful Detroit,” the former president said. “This is very personal for me.”
The car loan plan is in addition to his 15 percent corporate tax rate for companies that make their products in the U.S. and his 100 percent research and development tax write-off plan for a startup’s first year of operations. He also immediately promised to axe the federal government’s electric vehicle mandate.
“I intend for the triumph of the American auto industry to be among my greatest legacies,” Trump said.
Emerging as one of the most important states in the 2024 election, Michigan is part of the “blue wall,” along with Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. These traditionally dark blue strongholds have reliably voted Democrat. Trump shocked the country when he broke through the blue wall in 2016, winning all three states on his way to electoral college victory.
Detroit, the most populous city in Michigan, has had all Democratic mayors since 1962. The Detroit metropolitan area is home to General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis (formerly known as Chrysler), three of the biggest automakers in the country.
Electric vehicle mandates are generally viewed as a losing issue in the state. Quinnipiac’s recent polls show 57 percent of likely Michigan voters “oppose government incentives to encourage people to buy more electric vehicles.“
Despite this, Trump’s biggest endorsement has come from Elon Musk, the Tesla owner who has pioneered mass electric vehicle production worldwide.
“The rank-and-file of the UAW (United Auto Workers) members” are supporting him, Trump said.
The UAW union president, Shawn Fain, held a press call in the morning where he contrasted Vice President Kamala Harris’s plans with Trump’s.
“Kamala Harris has an agenda that will invest directly in workers with more training, more plants and more jobs, and our members aren’t going to be fooled by what Donald Trump says in Michigan today or any other day, with our livelihoods on the line this November,” Fain said on the press call.
Fain also said that Trump’s plan “to roll back tens of billions of dollars in investment” could lead to “plant closures,” or at least the threat of them.
The Trump campaign’s Michigan Communications Director, Victoria LaCivita, told NTD News in a statement that “President Trump has been clear that he’ll support the auto industry, allowing space for both gas powered cars AND electric vehicles. There’s only one candidate who wants to tell you what type of car Michiganders can drive, build, and sell – and that’s Kamala Harris.”
Emerson College’s latest polling in the state has the presidential race at dead even. In their report, the executive director of Emerson’s polling department, Spencer Kimball, said their polls show “Voters in union households break for Harris by 10 points in Michigan (54 percent to 44 percent)” and “Non-union households lean toward Trump in Michigan (50 percent to 48 percent).”
Trump also announced Thursday that he will “formally notify Mexico and Canada of my intention to invoke the six-year renegotiation provisions of the USMCA,” after taking office.
The USMCA is a trade deal, formerly known as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, that Trump put together during his first term. It replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement, which was established during Bill Clinton’s presidency.
Election Day, on Nov. 5, is less than four weeks.