Ramaswamy calls Biden’s trip to UAW picket line a ‘smokescreen to deflect reality’ 

GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy on Saturday called President Biden’s upcoming trip to visit striking auto workers in Michigan a “smokescreen to deflect reality.” 

“Biden’s trip to ‘protest’ in Michigan is a smokescreen to deflect reality & the UAW strike is just a symptom of the deeper problem: a trifecta of rising prices + rising interest rates + stagnant wages,” the conservative entrepreneur posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

His comments come just a day after Biden — who has billed himself as the most pro-union president — announced he would travel to Detroit in support of the United Auto Workers’ (UAW) strike.

“Tuesday, I’ll go to Michigan to join the picket line and stand in solidarity with the men and women of UAW as they fight for a fair share of the value they helped create,” Biden said. “It’s time for a win-win agreement that keeps American auto manufacturing thriving with well-paid UAW jobs.”

Ramaswamy scoffed at Biden’s plan, arguing that the president’s economic policies were partially to blame for the strike.

“American workers deserve answers for horrendous economic policies & “civil service protections” enjoyed by federal bureaucrats that ordinary workers don’t get,” he wrote. “The picket line we need is in D.C., not Detroit. That’s the hard TRUTH.”

Former President Trump, who is also running for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, made similar comments to Ramaswamy, arguing that the Biden administration agenda bares some of the responsibility for the strike.

“Crooked Joe sold them down the river with his ridiculous all Electric Car Hoax,” Trump said on Truth Social in the early morning Saturday. “Within 3 years, all of these cars will be made in China.”

Trump said he would be visiting Michigan on Sept. 27, foregoing the second GOP primary debate. His campaign argued that Biden’s trip is “nothing more than a cheap photo op as he finds himself between a rock and a political hard place.” 

The UAW union launched their strike just over a week ago, when negotiations with the Big Three automakers — Ford, GM and Stellantis — failed before the auto workers’ contracts ended. On Friday, the union expanded the effort to more than 38 locations across 28 states, and pushed for Biden to join the fight.

The union is demanding higher wages and better protections amid the auto industry’s transition toward electric vehicles.