Trump takes economic message to Michigan amid dwindling popularity
US president is suffering from low approval ratings in state that has become ‘ground zero’ for his trade policies. When factories were roaring, Michigan
US president is suffering from low approval ratings in state that has become ‘ground zero’ for his trade policies. When factories were roaring, Michigan – home to three large automakers – was at the centre of manufacturing in the United States. So when globalisation took over and many US factories shut down as outsourcing led to the loss of millions of manufacturing jobs in the 1980s and 1990s, the Midwestern state became the symbol of what happens to communities during deindustrialisation. President Donald Trump spoke in Michigan at a General Motors (GM) plant on Monday to highlight perceived achievements and promote his economic policies – a move that underscores the political and economic weight of the state. “We are doing unbelievably well as a country,” Trump said as supporters held signs reading “American Jobs”. “We’re building more auto factories and more plants than at any time in the history of our country.” Trump won Michigan in 2016 and lost it when he lost the presidency four years later, only to reclaim the state and the White House in the 2024 election. But the US president’s approval ratings in the state have been nosediving despite trade policies aimed at reviving industrialisation and providing factory jobs, which would especially benefit Michigan.
An EPIC-MRA poll last month showed Trump’s approval rating at 33 percent less than two years after he won the state with 49.73 percent of the votes. “The economy is largely responsible for that,” David Dulio, a political science professor at Oakland University, north of Detroit, said of Trump’s dwindling popularity in Michigan. “There are certainly some folks who are concerned on the foreign policy side and a few other marginal issues, but I think the president’s approval generally tracks with economic indicators, and Trump is no exception.” The White House is touting billions of dollars in investments in Michigan’s economy, including expansions by the “Big Three” automakers – GM, Ford and Stellantis. Trump has been calling the US the “hottest country” in the world, saying his administration is attracting trillions of dollars in capital into the country. But Dulio said that approach does not resonate with voters. “People don’t connect those announcements with those gaudy numbers to what’s happening in their everyday life like they do gas prices or grocery prices,” he told Al Jazeera. Besides being an industrial hub, Michigan is also a major gateway for commerce between the US and Canada. So Trump’s trade war with Canada has created uncertainty in Michigan, dampening celebrations over Monday’s opening of a new bridge between the two countries over the Detroit River.
The BriefWire