Republican vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance waves to the crowd while taking the stage at an Oct. 2, 2024 campaign event in Auburn Hills. | Kyle Davidson
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer says comments made in Michigan Wednesday by vice presidential candidate U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) are a “middle finger to Michigan auto workers.”
Whitmer was responding to comments reported by The Detroit News when Vance was asked while stumping in Michigan whether a second former President Donald Trump administration would commit to upholding a $500 million federal grant from the Biden administration that would convert the General Motors Lansing Grand River Plant, which currently makes Cadillac sedans, into a future electric vehicle plant.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer speaks at a Lansing event announcing that a future expeditionary fast transport ship will be named “USS Lansing,” July 22, 2024 | Lucy Valeski
Officials say the conversion would save an estimated 650 jobs while creating up to 50 new positions.
Despite that, Vance twice declined to say whether a commitment would be forthcoming, instead claiming the grant came with “ridiculous strings and no protections for American jobs,” which he claimed could get shipped overseas as the minerals needed to produce electric batteries are produced in China.
“[S]o, when we write massive checks on American taxpayer expense to these companies, a lot of times what we’re doing is selling American middle class jobs to the Communist Chinese, and we ought to be doing exactly the opposite,” Vance said, as reported by the Detroit News.
The News, however, reported that GM says the assembled battery packs for the Lansing plant would be produced at the new battery plant currently under construction in Delta Township, just west of Lansing.
Whitmer and other Democrats criticized the remarks. She said they were akin to the Trump campaign turning its back on Michigan workers, noting that in 2016, Trump promised auto workers in Warren that if elected, they would “not lose one plant,” although during his administration GM ended up closing the 78-year-old plant in 2019.
“When you have a chance to save hundreds of good-paying Michigan auto jobs and create more, you take it,” said Whitmer. “Instead, the Trump-Vance ticket is giving the middle finger to Michigan auto workers by refusing to support their jobs at GM. The Biden-Harris administration acted to save this plant. But all Donald Trump cares about is billionaires like Elon Musk, not Michigan auto workers.”
Whitmer, a co-chair of the Harris campaign, said that the Biden administration had worked to secure thousands of good-paying jobs, including in Michigan, to manufacture cars, batteries and semiconductor chips.
“On Donald Trump’s watch, Michigan lost 280,000 jobs and the companies that sent those jobs overseas got huge tax breaks. Donald Trump turned his back on Michigan the last time he was in the White House, and he’s telling us loud and clear that he will do it again if he wins this November,” said Whitmer.
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