Trump’s policy on tariffs has whipped back and forth throughout last year
By Liz Nass
Gongwer News Service
President Donald Trump stumped for the benefits of tariffs, the dramatic turnaround of Detroit and Mike Rogers’ U.S. Senate campaign in his speech on Tuesday in front of the Detroit Economic Club.
This is Trump’s first 2026 appearance in the state during an important election year where the governor’s office and a U.S. Senate seat sit open while the Republican majorities in both the U.S. and Michigan House are fighting to maintain control.
Although Trump hit on a plethora of national political touchstones, all eyes were on economic policy.
—————
“Tariff is my favorite word.”
Trump claimed that the historic use of tariffs is what made the United States strong in the first place, saying his switch back to harsher tariff policy was the most significant reason for economic turnaround in the country in the past year.
Since last January, Trump increased tariffs on imports from all global partners with the use of economic emergency laws. The policy has whipped back and forth throughout the last year, with threats of extremely high rates and then later framework agreements with the European Union and Japan or temporary truces with China.
Many economists have criticized the strategy for its claims of affordability in other sectors of the economy as a result, but prices continue to rise.
Trump claimed during his speech that any predictions from critics have failed to materialize on the misgivings of strict tariff policy, with costs shifting away from American consumers to foreign nations and bringing “trillions of dollars of new investment and unprecedented new partnerships” for defense and artificial intelligence sales.
He said if the Michigan electorate did not elect him president to carry out his tariff policy, then there would still be a “gaping trade deficit” and there probably wouldn’t even be an economic club meeting at all because it would be all bad news.
Even with a truce with China and Trump claiming to have a good relationship with President Xi Jinping, he said that an “anti-tariff person is a pro-(China) person,” calling the country one of the United States’ “biggest taxpayers right now” in terms of how much the importers are paying in tariffs.
Circling back to the automotive industry in Detroit, Trump said he’s been telling industry leaders to view tariffs as a solution to losing the grasp of the automotive sector to foreign nations.
In November, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer published an op-ed in The Washington Post criticizing Trump’s tariff strategy, calling the plan “chaotic” and pointing fingers at the policy when looking at unemployment and increasing costs in the state.
“If we continue using broad, poorly designed tariffs, American families pay more for everything, Michigan farmers lose out on billions in exports because of retaliation, and large and small businesses cannot plan for the future,” Whitmer wrote last year.
Trump, who has publicly built back a relationship with Whitmer in the past year to the chagrin of her Democratic colleagues, notably did not mention Whitmer at all in his speech on Tuesday.
—————
2. The auto industry is about to see ‘exploding growth’
The first comment Trump made about overall economic activity in Detroit was that since he took office again, the manufacturing plants that seemed they were going to close two years ago are now running “around the clock.”
Trump continuously boosted a message of continuous growth in the automotive industry, mostly touting his policies as the core reason. He claimed this was the “strongest and fastest economic turnaround in the country’s history.”
“You’re so lucky to be here under our administration. Growth is exploding, investment is booming. incomes are rising, inflation is defeated,” Trump said.
Since Trump took office last year, Ford Motor Company and General Motors have scaled back investments in EV production at Michigan plants. This followed the end of federal tax credits for electric vehicles, which caused clean manufacturing investments in Michigan to plummet, resulting in $3 billion in canceled investments in 2025 alone.
The Trump administration is currently reevaluating a grant program that awarded $500 million to retool a Lansing GM factory for electrified vehicles.
He said while growth potential is unlimited, the Federal Reserve is “stiff” and every time Trump announces good numbers, they work to “raise interest rates and kill it” because they are “petrified” of inflation, claiming growth and inflation don’t necessarily have to move hand-in-hand.
Trump said with this, and the 25% tariff on all foreign automobiles, he is “standing up for the American autoworker like no president has ever before.”
He said automotive factories will see more than $70 billion in new investment, saying “much of that money is coming right here to the car making capital of the world, Detroit.”
He also claimed victory for the expansion of Ford across their Michigan and Kentucky plants and General Motors moving production back to America from Mexico.
—————
3. Trump claims electoral victory for himself in 2020, Rogers in 2024
Trump opened his speech with shoutouts for notable Republicans in the state and kudos for Michigan in general for electing him “three times,” again claiming that he won the 2020 election in Michigan.
Although Michigan chose Trump in 2016 over former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton by 11,000 votes and again in 2024 by around 81,000 votes over former Vice President Kamala Harris, Michigan voted for former President Joe Biden over Trump in 2020 by around 154,000 votes. Every claim against the accuracy of the 2020 election results has been refuted.
But Trump repeated this claim on Tuesday, saying “they won the whole thing in Michigan,” calling out to House Speaker Matt Hall, R-Richland Township, to agree with him that “they didn’t give us credit the second time, but we won.”
He also commiserated with Republican U.S. Senate candidate Mike Rogers, claiming his 2024 loss was also rigged and that “they took that away from (him) last time.” He again gave his support to Rogers, saying “he’s going to be a great senator.”
U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Holly, won a narrow race in the state against Rogers by about 19,000 votes.
Gongwer News Service
President Donald Trump stumped for the benefits of tariffs, the dramatic turnaround of Detroit and Mike Rogers’ U.S. Senate campaign in his speech on Tuesday in front of the Detroit Economic Club.
This is Trump’s first 2026 appearance in the state during an important election year where the governor’s office and a U.S. Senate seat sit open while the Republican majorities in both the U.S. and Michigan House are fighting to maintain control.
Although Trump hit on a plethora of national political touchstones, all eyes were on economic policy.
—————
“Tariff is my favorite word.”
Trump claimed that the historic use of tariffs is what made the United States strong in the first place, saying his switch back to harsher tariff policy was the most significant reason for economic turnaround in the country in the past year.
Since last January, Trump increased tariffs on imports from all global partners with the use of economic emergency laws. The policy has whipped back and forth throughout the last year, with threats of extremely high rates and then later framework agreements with the European Union and Japan or temporary truces with China.
Many economists have criticized the strategy for its claims of affordability in other sectors of the economy as a result, but prices continue to rise.
Trump claimed during his speech that any predictions from critics have failed to materialize on the misgivings of strict tariff policy, with costs shifting away from American consumers to foreign nations and bringing “trillions of dollars of new investment and unprecedented new partnerships” for defense and artificial intelligence sales.
He said if the Michigan electorate did not elect him president to carry out his tariff policy, then there would still be a “gaping trade deficit” and there probably wouldn’t even be an economic club meeting at all because it would be all bad news.
Even with a truce with China and Trump claiming to have a good relationship with President Xi Jinping, he said that an “anti-tariff person is a pro-(China) person,” calling the country one of the United States’ “biggest taxpayers right now” in terms of how much the importers are paying in tariffs.
Circling back to the automotive industry in Detroit, Trump said he’s been telling industry leaders to view tariffs as a solution to losing the grasp of the automotive sector to foreign nations.
In November, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer published an op-ed in The Washington Post criticizing Trump’s tariff strategy, calling the plan “chaotic” and pointing fingers at the policy when looking at unemployment and increasing costs in the state.
“If we continue using broad, poorly designed tariffs, American families pay more for everything, Michigan farmers lose out on billions in exports because of retaliation, and large and small businesses cannot plan for the future,” Whitmer wrote last year.
Trump, who has publicly built back a relationship with Whitmer in the past year to the chagrin of her Democratic colleagues, notably did not mention Whitmer at all in his speech on Tuesday.
—————
2. The auto industry is about to see ‘exploding growth’
The first comment Trump made about overall economic activity in Detroit was that since he took office again, the manufacturing plants that seemed they were going to close two years ago are now running “around the clock.”
Trump continuously boosted a message of continuous growth in the automotive industry, mostly touting his policies as the core reason. He claimed this was the “strongest and fastest economic turnaround in the country’s history.”
“You’re so lucky to be here under our administration. Growth is exploding, investment is booming. incomes are rising, inflation is defeated,” Trump said.
Since Trump took office last year, Ford Motor Company and General Motors have scaled back investments in EV production at Michigan plants. This followed the end of federal tax credits for electric vehicles, which caused clean manufacturing investments in Michigan to plummet, resulting in $3 billion in canceled investments in 2025 alone.
The Trump administration is currently reevaluating a grant program that awarded $500 million to retool a Lansing GM factory for electrified vehicles.
He said while growth potential is unlimited, the Federal Reserve is “stiff” and every time Trump announces good numbers, they work to “raise interest rates and kill it” because they are “petrified” of inflation, claiming growth and inflation don’t necessarily have to move hand-in-hand.
Trump said with this, and the 25% tariff on all foreign automobiles, he is “standing up for the American autoworker like no president has ever before.”
He said automotive factories will see more than $70 billion in new investment, saying “much of that money is coming right here to the car making capital of the world, Detroit.”
He also claimed victory for the expansion of Ford across their Michigan and Kentucky plants and General Motors moving production back to America from Mexico.
—————
3. Trump claims electoral victory for himself in 2020, Rogers in 2024
Trump opened his speech with shoutouts for notable Republicans in the state and kudos for Michigan in general for electing him “three times,” again claiming that he won the 2020 election in Michigan.
Although Michigan chose Trump in 2016 over former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton by 11,000 votes and again in 2024 by around 81,000 votes over former Vice President Kamala Harris, Michigan voted for former President Joe Biden over Trump in 2020 by around 154,000 votes. Every claim against the accuracy of the 2020 election results has been refuted.
But Trump repeated this claim on Tuesday, saying “they won the whole thing in Michigan,” calling out to House Speaker Matt Hall, R-Richland Township, to agree with him that “they didn’t give us credit the second time, but we won.”
He also commiserated with Republican U.S. Senate candidate Mike Rogers, claiming his 2024 loss was also rigged and that “they took that away from (him) last time.” He again gave his support to Rogers, saying “he’s going to be a great senator.”
U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Holly, won a narrow race in the state against Rogers by about 19,000 votes.
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