President Donald Trump visited a Ford plant in Dearborn, Michigan, on Tuesday, using the stop to defend his sweeping tariffs and argue they are helping the U.S. economy. The Associated Press reported that Trump toured the factory floor and watched vehicles at various stages of production, positioning the trip as part of a broader message aimed at voters worried about jobs and still-rising prices.
At the Ford facility, Trump viewed F-150s and saw gas and hybrid models being built, as well as the all-gas Raptor model designed for off-road use. He also chatted with assembly line workers and with Bill Ford, the automaker’s executive chairman and a descendant of Henry Ford. During the visit, Trump said, “All U.S. automakers are doing great.”
After the plant stop, Trump delivered a speech to the Detroit Economic Club. The AP reported the speech was intended to focus on economic policies but shifted into other topics, including a claim Trump made about Michigan voting for him and an anecdote about snakes that, he said, felled workers during U.S. efforts to build the Panama Canal more than a century ago.
In the speech, Trump falsely claimed to have won Michigan three times, the AP reported, adding that he lost the state in 2020 to Joe Biden. Later, at the MotorCity Casino, Trump declared, “The results are in, and the Trump economic boom has officially begun,” and he argued that historic use of tariffs was one of the biggest reasons for that “unbelievable success.”
Trump also defended tariffs by saying they were “overwhelmingly” paid by “foreign nations and middlemen,” even as the AP reported that economists say import taxes tend to be passed from overseas manufacturers to U.S. consumers, contributing to higher prices. In remarks carried in the AP report, Trump said, “It’s tariffs that are making money for Michigan and the entire country,” and insisted that “every prediction the critics made about our tariff policy has failed to materialize.”
The visit came as Trump sought to address concerns among voters and follow up on a White House pledge after Election Day that he would travel more often to speak directly to the public about easing financial fears. The AP said Trump attempted to emphasize that message on Tuesday but included lengthy asides, including remarks about his tendency to go off teleprompter.
Trump promised to unveil a new “health care affordability framework” later this week, the AP reported, and he said he would soon offer additional plans to improve affordability nationwide. In those remarks, he argued that Democrats used “affordability” and said they “caused the problem,” the AP said.
While Trump cheered tariffs during the stop, the AP report said his administration has backed off some auto tariffs. It cited that Trump originally announced 25% tariffs on automobiles and auto parts but later relaxed them to provide domestic automakers relief from production-cost increases. The AP also said Ford announced in December it was scrapping plans to make an electric F-150, after changes including slashed targets for electric vehicle sales by 2030, the elimination of EV tax credits, and proposed weakening of emissions and gas mileage rules.
The AP reported that video posted by TMZ showed Trump making an obscene gesture at someone yelling at him from afar. White House spokesman Steven Cheung responded, saying “a lunatic was wildly screaming expletives in a complete fit of rage, and the president gave an appropriate and unambiguous response.”
The AP report also said Trump suggested during the tour that the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement is irrelevant and no longer necessary. The AP described the agreement as known as USMCA and said it is up for review this year.
The tariff-focused trip unfolded amid a separate political fight involving the Federal Reserve. The AP reported that the Justice Department has launched a criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, which Powell said is aimed at undermining the central bank’s independence in setting interest rates. The AP said critics include former Fed chairs, economic officials and some Republican lawmakers, and that Trump criticized Powell during his trip but offered little mention of the investigation.
The AP report said some economic data also arrived before Trump left Washington, showing inflation declined in December as prices for gas and used cars fell. It said consumer prices rose 0.3% in December from the prior month, the same as in November, according to the Labor Department. Trump told the Detroit audience, “We have quickly achieved the exact opposite of stagflation, almost no inflation and super-high growth,” according to the AP report.
About 100 people protested outside the venue where Trump spoke Tuesday, including Kassandra Rodriguez, a member of the Detroit Community Action Committee, the AP reported. Rodriguez said of Trump, “He says a lot, but he means very little and I think we can see that,” and added, “He doesn’t know how to enact real policy in a real way.”