Trump defends autoworkers against threats from Biden's EV push

Amid a United Auto Workers (UAW) strike against America's Big Three car makers, former President Donald Trump has come to the defense of the rank-and-file employees, stating that President Joe Biden's electric vehicle push is poised to put them out of their jobs and that they are right to be concerned, as Breitbart reports.

Trump's words of caution come as Breitbart News economics editor John Carney points out that “the Biden administration has been pushing policies to electrify most new vehicles within a decade or so” and notes that such an initiative “will mean a rapid decline in payrolls for autoworkers – even as the automakers enjoy Inflation Reduction Act subsidies.”

Speaking to CNBC on the topic, Trump expressed his solidarity with autoworkers, suggesting that the current administration is failing when it comes to keeping China from exercising dominion over the electric vehicle landscape.

Biden, according to Trump, is also acting in a manner likely to cede control of EV-related supply chains to Beijing.

The former president declared, “The auto workers will not have any jobs...because of all these cars are going to be made in China. The electric cars, automatically, are going to be made in China.”

Currently the GOP primary frontrunner, the former president pulled no punches with regard to his assessment of the situation, saying, “The auto workers are being sold down the river by their leadership, and their leadership should endorse Trump.”

In his comments, Trump made reference to UAW President Shawn Fain and suggested that, in the interest of his union membership, ought to endorse his presidential campaign.

Notably, as The Hill explains, Fain  has not endorsed Biden in his 2024 bid as of yet, saying that he and those he represents expect “actions, not words” from the commander in chief.

Speaking on Face the Nation over the weekend, Fain said, “Our endorsements are going to be earned. We've been very clear about that, no matter what politician.”

It is not just Fain who appears unconvinced that Biden has indeed earned UAW endorsements, with Politico reporting last week on an unmistakable undercurrent of discontent in an Indiana union hall on the eve of the strike.

Speaking to the outlet, UAW members in Fain's hometown of Kokomo expressed frustration with what they perceive as Biden's inaction when it comes to protecting their jobs as well as their wages.

Union local president Garry Quirk said of Biden, “I don't know what he's done. Ask him. I don't think he knows what he's done. Seriously. I'm not trying to be mean.”

Fellow member Denny Butler appeared to agree, saying, “We haven't had a president in there for years, with the exception of Trump, that was really for the people, all the way back to the Reagan days.”

With such sentiments bubbling up in union halls across the country and a potentially crippling strike still dragging on, Trump's decision to underscore the threat Biden's green initiatives pose to workers' future prospects may prove fruitful in shifting a typically reliable Democrat voting block to the right in 2024.