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Trump praises GM and defends tariffs during Michigan visit
President says the automaker has benefited from tariff policies while touring facility
Key Takeaways:
- President Donald Trump visited a GM testing facility in Michigan on July 27 and said tariffs have revived U.S. manufacturing and helped automakers.
- The visit highlighted debate over tariffs as Michigan businesses cite economic strain from new levies on Canada, a key trade partner.
- Tensions with Canada persist as new tariffs disrupted plans for a joint celebration of the Gordie Howe International Bridge opening.
MILFORD, Mich. — In a visit to Michigan on July 27, President Donald Trump argued that his economic policies have revived the auto industry and American manufacturing even as many businesses contend that the sweeping tariffs he’s imposed against Canada and the rest of the world have hurt the state.
Trump defended his policies while visiting a General Motors facility in the Detroit suburb of Milford that is a testing ground for its vehicles. He pumped a fist after watching Corvette, Cadillac and Hummer vehicles compete in a series of drag races.
In a speech, Trump cheered GM's plans to expand production domestically in coming years and declared himself a president who was standing up for auto workers “at long last.”
“I’ve done more for you than your parents, OK?" he joked.
After being led on a tour of vehicles from different eras of GM, some of which he sat in, Trump claimed the tariffs have helped the automaker.
“They’ve come a long way,” he said to reporters about the Detroit-based automaker. “It’s amazing what tariffs are doing for GM.” Trump said he’s been good to the company, but he declined to say more.
“The rest of the world doesn’t love me, but that’s OK,” he said, alluding to tariffs. “It’s called ‘America first.’”
President Trump receives a tour of a General Motors facility in Milford, Michigan from CEO Mary Barra, and touts that his presidency improved the company's standing: "It's amazing what tariffs will do for General Motors and what the election has done." pic.twitter.com/fKRGjwYxtU — CSPAN (@cspan) July 27, 2026
Trump's new Canada tariffs could hurt Michigan
Michigan was one of the 2024 battlegrounds Trump flipped after it backed Democrat Joe Biden in 2020. But the state has seen parts of its economy affected by the president's tariffs, including on imported cars and auto parts.
A new round of steep import levies is taking effect on dozens of U.S. trading partners. But Trump has singled out Canada with tariffs as high as 50% on a wide array of its products, including cars.
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From left: Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, Trump, GM CEO Mary Barra and GM President Mark Reuss. (Alex Brandon/Associated Press)
The GM facility is in Oakland County, which encompasses much of Detroit's northern suburbs. Once a Republican stronghold, it has increasingly leaned Democratic, backing Biden against Trump in 2020 and Vice President Kamala Harris against Trump four years later.
GM says its facility is the oldest dedicated vehicle testing operation in the United States, where 4,200 employees work to refine nearly every vehicle the company makes before they reach consumers.
Michigan's economy relies heavily on Canada, however, meaning the new tariffs — coupled with inflation still running high and gas prices rising again as the already unpopular war in Iran escalates — have created additional economic concerns statewide.
Those come at a time when voters across the country were already increasingly dissatisfied with Trump's handling of the economy.
Jason Roe, a former executive director of the Michigan Republican Party who tried unsuccessfully to distance it from Trump's “Make America Great Again” movement in 2021, said that more than coinciding with his new round of tariffs, Trump's visit is a function of Michigan's relatively late primary and is meant to ensure that James secures the nomination.
But Roe also said it was a risk for the president to tie himself too closely to top Republicans before the general election, calling it “kryptonite to November voters.”
Trump, who won the White House on a promise to lower the cost of living, also has seen his approval ratings sag, meaning kitchen-table issues could be a liability for Republicans trying to hold control of Congress in the Nov. 3 elections.
“We’re happy to have the president here, campaigning with Republicans. We think it highlights the fact that the only thing they care about is Donald Trump and refuse to stand up to him," said Curtis Hertel, chairman of the Michigan Democratic Party. "It’s good for us every time the president is here because he’s incredibly unpopular.”
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Attendees hold "American Jobs" and "American Cars" signs as Trump speaks. (Paul Sancya/Associated Press)
The Supreme Court struck down many of Trump’s sweeping tariffs, but his administration has tried to find ways around that, including by arguing that he can impose them on Canada because that country is discriminating against American exports of products including automobiles.
But Trump’s latest round of tariffs came after he voiced frustration with Canada for having retaliated and imposed its own levies on U.S. imports in response to Trump’s initial tariffs last year. Trump launched the first round after alleging Canada should do more to stop fentanyl smuggling.
It is Trump's third trip to Michigan in his second term.
In January, he visited a Ford plant in Dearborn and addressed the Detroit Economic Club, offering a defense of tariffs even as auto industry leaders blamed them for increasing the cost of doing business.
The president marked his second term's first 100 days with a rally in Warren, where he mostly mentioned grievances left over from the 2024 campaign.
U.S., Canada have squabbled over a new border bridge
Trump's latest visit coincides with tensions between his administration and Canada that have marred the opening of a new bridge linking Detroit and Windsor, Ontario.
Canada on July 24 held its own event hailing the opening of the $4.7 billion Gordie Howe International Bridge instead of a planned celebration with officials in the U.S. after Trump announced the new Canadian tariffs.
An earlier, joint ceremony had been set for June but was scrapped after Trump suggested the U.S. wanted a “better” deal on the bridge it co-owns with Canada.
That eventually led to an agreement on splitting tolls that was supposed to allow for the rescheduled joint U.S.-Canada celebration — until the new tariffs derailed that, too.
