Trump addresses climate change by returning to tariffs

Former President Trump responded to a question about climate change by returning to the idea of tariffs to protect domestic industries from competition with China.

He vowed to keep inexpensive and emissions-reducing Chinese electrical vehicles out of American markets with cumbersome tariffs, thereby protecting American industries and jobs.

“We’ll put tariffs on those cars so they can’t come into our country, because they will kill the United Auto Workers and any autoworker, whether it’s in Detroit or South Carolina,” he said.

The United Auto Workers (UAW) union has been a politically significant organization over the course of the Biden presidency, both for developing new strike tactics during their strike at the Big Three automakers last year and because President Biden joined their picket line, becoming the first sitting president to do so.

Trump said manufacturing jobs were “all leaving” the country, but the data doesn’t really support this assertion. 

It is notable, however, that despite a huge surge in manufacturing construction investment spurred by major legislation including the recent infrastructure law, the CHIPS and Science Act and Inflation Reduction Act, manufacturing jobs have not seen a comparable rise relative to historical levels.