Trump will speak during prime time in front of current and former workers in Detroit, a Trump adviser confirmed to The Hill.
The former president is heading to Michigan, a key swing state, as his GOP 2024 rivals gather in California for the second debate on Sept. 27.
The announcement comes as the United Auto Workers (UAW) union has gone on strike over issues related to pay — including concerns on pay during the transition to electric vehicles (EVs).
While the union does not specifically oppose EVs, saying they simply want workers making them to be paid fairly, Trump has repeatedly hammered President Biden’s policies on the topic in an attempt to appeal to disaffected workers.
“It’s a twofer for him,” Michigan-based GOP strategist Jason Cabel Roe to our colleagues. “He gets to troll his opposition and go stake a claim in an important battleground state that he has been unique amongst Republicans of the last 30 or 40 years in winning.”
However, union leadership has been critical of Trump.
UAW President Shawn Fain said in a statement on Tuesday that “every fiber of our union is being poured into fighting the billionaire class and an economy that enriches people like Donald Trump at the expense of workers.”
The Hill’s Brett Samuels and Caroline Vakil have more here.
