FACT CHECK: Auto Jobs Declined During Trump Administration

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Speaking at a non-union facility in Michigan, Donald Trump falsely claimed that he “saved American manufacturing in [his] first term.” Actually, American auto manufacturing jobs declined during his presidency. 

FACT: During Trump’s first year in office, motor vehicle and parts manufacturing employment in the U.S. declined from 788,900 to 783,200 in November 2017, and GM had a net loss of 3,500 hourly manufacturing jobs in 2017.

FACT: Despite a 2016 campaign pledge to not let a single Michigan auto plant close, GM announced it would end production at five North American plants in 2018.

FACT: A second Trump term would be a ‘disaster’ for American workers. His first term was marked by numerous attacks on workers and their collective bargaining rights.

FACT: Trump suggested moving auto production out of Michigan to lower-wage, anti-union states.

FACT: Trump said we could’ve let Detroit go bankrupt during the financial crisis, and the auto industry lost jobs and closed plants in Michigan on his watch.

FACT: President Biden is the first president to walk a picket line in solidarity with striking workers, and Trump was the first president to have a bank account in China.