U.S. Rep. John James (R-Shelby Twp.) speaks at a rally for former President Donald Trump in Novi on Oct. 26, 2024. | Kyle Davidson
After offering remarks in Novi on Saturday, former President Donald Trump addressed supporters in Michigan once more Tuesday evening in a tele-rally with U.S. Rep. John James (R-Shelby Twp.).
The former president continued to push disproven statements about undocumented immigrants as both candidates encouraged voters to send Trump back to the White House and preserve Republican’s majority in the U.S. House.
James represents Michigan’s 10th Congressional District, encompassing southern Macomb County and parts of Oakland County, including Rochester and Rochester Hills. James is set for a rematch against former Judge Carl Marlinga as Democrats seek to flip the seat in hopes of establishing a majority in Congress.
GOP counts on James holding onto his congressional seat while fighting to keep majority
The nonpartisan Cook Political Report has said the race leans Republican, giving James an edge. However, James told voters Republicans can’t leave the seat up to chance.
“In 2022, my race came down to a half a point, a half a point, 1600 votes to declare victory. It was the third closest race in the entire nation, the closest race in the swing state. Now, not only is this seat critical to expanding the House Majority so we can keep Congress red, it’s also critical to win this seat so we can turn the Senate red and yes, win back the White House for President Donald J. Trump and Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio),” James said, emphasizing the race would ultimately be determined by voter turnout.
James slammed Vice President Kamala Harris on the increased cost of living, while Trump focused his pitch on undocumented immigration, auto industry jobs and the economy at large.
Throughout his campaign Trump has pointed to Chinese auto plants being built in Mexico as a threat to the American auto industry, despite auto industry experts pointing to a lack of evidence for these assertions, with only one such facility in operation. However, Trump once again claimed to have killed a large plant, after stating on Saturday that he had killed all projects planned for construction saying, “They’re dead. They’re all dead.”
The former president also continued his attacks on electric vehicle manufacturing, blaming a dip in auto jobs in recent months on an “electric car mandate.” While Trump has continuously argued blasted Harris and President Joe Biden have instituted an EV mandate, the Biden-Harris administration has not issued a ban on gas-powered vehicles, instead setting a goal for electric vehicles to make up 50% of all new automobiles sales in the U.S. by 2030 and providing support for electric vehicles and battery manufacturing through policies like the Inflation Reduction Act.
Conservatives have similarly argued that new pollution standards issued by the Environmental Protection Agency for vehicles model years 2027 through 2032 serve as a de facto ban on gas powered vehicles, though policy experts told Factcheck.com that automakers would have flexibility in how they meet these requirements, and could continue producing gas cars by making their engines more efficient.
“It’s so sad what’s happened the auto industry. … This was the capital of the world, and decade by decade it left, and we lost thousands of auto jobs over the last couple of months, thousands. And that has to do with the electric car mandate,” Trump said, pointing to the decreased labor needed to construct EVs.
According to a report from Forbes, auto manufacturing jobs hit a 34-year peak in June, with auto manufacturing jobs continuing to climb into July before dropping off according to preliminary data from August.
Additionally, research from Carnegie Mellon University suggests it may take more to produce electric vehicles, rather than less.
After slamming Democrats on auto manufacturing, Trump pivoted to immigration, saying he and James would “seal the border.”
“We’re going to begin the largest deportation, unfortunately, something I don’t want to do, but we have no choice,” Trump said.
He also repeated a disproven claim that migrants are taking over apartment complexes in Aurora, Colo., with city officials and residents disputing Trump’s claim that a complex had been taken over by Venezuelan gang members. He also targeted migrants in Springfield, Ohio, saying they were “taking over.”
On its website, the city notes that it has seen an influx of immigrants from Haiti, who are residing in the city legally under the Immigration Parole Program. However the Trump campaign has repeatedly targeted the city’s migrant population, amplifying racist rumors that Haitian immigrants had been eating their neighbors’ pets. In an interview with NewsNation, Trump said he would revoke temporary status for Haitians residing in Springfield and deport them.
During the telerally Trump also pledged to “end inflation” and make the U.S. the dominant energy producer in the world, turning the U.S. into a manufacturing superpower and cutting energy bills by 50% in his first year back in office.
According to the United States Energy Information Administration, the United States has led the world in crude oil production for the past six years, hitting a monthly record high in December 2023.
He also rattled off a number of his campaign’s tax proposals, including making car loans fully tax deductible, providing tax cuts for workers and eliminating taxes on tips, overtime pay and social security benefits for seniors.
When discussing foreign affairs, Trump said he would “prevent World War III” saying his administration had brought “peace through strength.”
In closing, Trump listed out additional promises, including support for police, plans to cut federal funding for any school “pushing critical race theory and radical gender ideology” and to “keep men out of women’s sport,” in part of his campaign’s continued attack on transgender Americans.
After shaming Democrats for tying Trump to Adolf Hitler, James looked back to the Republican’s majority in the House, saying “it’s not just been the last line of defense for our republic, it’s been the only line of defense for this republic.”
“If [Democrats] had a trifecta once again, they would have made things worse. You know, they would have made Puerto Rico and [Washington] D.C. states, and now you’d have four Democrat senators. And say goodbye to ever getting anything common sense through the Senate, say goodbye,” James said, before encouraging supporters to get out and vote.
“They would have packed the Supreme Court. They would’ve had ‘green new scam’ all over the country. But because we were able to get that thin majority, we were able to hold the line for our republic.”
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