Former President Trump traveled to Michigan, a key battleground state, for a town hall meeting on Friday, attacking Vice President Harris over policies he says are hurting the state's auto industry.
Trump sat in on a conversation moderated by Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tennessee, and took questions from the audience, but the night ended with a signature rally for the Republican candidate packed with his most ardent supporters. It felt like it was more reflective.
In his response, President Trump criticized Harris and the Democratic Party over energy, economic and immigration policies.
Here are five takeaways from the event.
President Trump focuses on key 'blue wall' states
The former president's visit Friday night to Warren, a suburb of Detroit, came in Michigan, a key battleground state where he lost the president in 2016 and helped flip the state to vote for President Biden in 2020. So, this is my most recent visit.
With less than six weeks until Election Day, President Trump has increased his visits to Michigan and six other key battleground states.
The Great Lakes State is one of three states: Along with Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, they competed in “blue wall” states that could decide the presidential election between Trump and Harris in November. Both candidates make frequent visits, particularly trying to appeal to suburban blue-collar workers who are likely to be swing voters.
President Trump stopped by the state early Friday to visit a manufacturing facility outside Grand Rapids in the state's west.
The average poll from Decision Desk Headquarters/The Hill shows Ms. Harris leading Mr. Trump in Michigan by just over 1 point.
EV attracts attacks
President Trump has often made electric vehicles a subject of his speeches to voters in states such as Michigan, arguing that the Biden administration's policies amount to a mandate.
“They have electrical authority,” President Trump said Friday. “They say, 'All cars are going to be electric.' I'll be done with that…on day one.”
While the Environmental Protection Agency's policy does not technically require automakers to produce electric vehicles or any particular technology, it does impose pollution limits on their vehicles. However, stricter standards will likely require the market to shift towards electric vehicles, or at least low-carbon options such as hybrid vehicles.
By 2032, 56% of new cars will be electric, 29% will be gasoline-powered, and 13% will be plug-in hybrids, which will prevent 7.2 billion tons of carbon dioxide emissions by 2055. It is expected.
President Trump has often attacked electric cars as inefficient, but on Friday he argued that consumers should be able to choose which cars they buy.
He also went after United Auto Workers Union President Sean Fein, who supported Harris, and accused him of forcing Biden to implement his policies. The UAW said it wanted to ensure worker protections, but did not oppose a transition to electric vehicles.
President Trump doubles tariffs
The Republican candidate has repeatedly defended his tariff policy as a way to give American companies an advantage over companies around the world.
President Trump's willingness to raise tariffs on other countries was a key part of his term, starting a trade war with China that continues to this day, with both countries imposing tariffs on each other.
During the event, President Trump called for a “smart” plan to use tariffs “wisely” to protect U.S. business interests. He argued that China's enemies and allies are all taking advantage of the country, and that the steel industry has “thrived” because of the tariffs it imposed on China.
President Trump also praised former President William McKinley, a tariff advocate who advocated for tariffs: raised For a wide range of products, the percentage is close to 50%. The Republican Party remained a proponent of tariffs throughout most of the party's early years, before adopting free trade policies as the 20th century progressed.
But President Trump has returned the Republican Party to support for protectionism not seen in previous decades.
“We need a sensible set of tariffs and taxes,” he said.
Focus on immigrants
Trump also seized the opportunity to attack Harris during the vice president's visit to the Mexican border in Arizona on Friday night. She called for more resources for border security and reiterated her support for a bipartisan border bill that failed in the Senate after President Trump called on Republicans to oppose it.
President Trump said Harris was “always complaining and never doing anything.” He acknowledged Harris' visit to the border, saying, “What a day this is for the border.”
Immigration has become a hot topic in the 2024 election, with voters often ranking immigration as the second most important issue facing the country after the economy. Polls show this is a weakness particularly for Biden, but a potential weakness for Harris and Democrats.
Survey respondents said they trusted Trump more than Harris to handle immigration.
If elected, Trump vowed to complete construction of his promised border wall and “close” the border, accusing illegal immigrants of stealing jobs from Americans.
City Hall with a gathering-like atmosphere
The event was set up like a town hall, with candidates fielding questions about what issues voters thought about, but the night turned into a more staged version of one of Trump's rallies. .
He sat with Mr. Blackburn, one of Trump's most ardent allies in Congress, who has often praised Mr. Trump for the policies he has implemented and promised to enact as president. Also, he was surrounded by a crowd of ardent supporters, who regularly praised his answers to several questions they received.
Mr. Trump has attended several of these town halls, with high-powered surrogates fielding questions, but has largely avoided traditional town halls with undecided voters. He has held several press conferences recently and answered various questions from reporters.
Harris has also made limited media appearances outside of her rallies since announcing her candidacy, occasionally answering a few questions from reporters.
However, recently she signaled He has also increased his involvement with the media, giving his first solo interview as a Democratic candidate on MSNBC this week, as well as giving interviews to local media outlets.
