Auto Industry Remains Central to Presidential Race

As the 2024 Presidential campaign moves into higher gear, the U.S. auto industry is once again at the center of the nation’s political conversation. There are numerous places where candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump conflict. But they suddenly seem to agree on one key issue – sort of – EVs.

The auto industry has become a big topic of debate in this year’s presidential race – perhaps more than in campaigns past, the candidates covering looming questions about economic policy and trade, the environment and energy. And, of course, battery-electric vehicle

But ever since 2008, when General Motors and Chrysler were skating along the edge of bankruptcy, the automotive business has been at the center of what have become increasingly divisive Presidential campaigns, the hallmark of contemporary politics.

New candidate, old issues

Earlier this year, President Joe Biden, who once pithily summed up the Obama administration’s first-term accomplishment by noting “General Motors is alive and Osama Bin Laden is dead,” slapped a 100% tariff on electric vehicles in what was widely viewed as a pre-emptive strike against the Republican nominee, Donald Trump.

Even though Biden has withdrawn from the race, the talking points around the auto industry remain salient to both the Democratic and Republican campaigns as the election approaches.

In his speeches on the stump, Trump has repeatedly attacked what he describes as the Biden-Harris administration’s electric vehicle mandates, which he describes as unfair, unwise, and unworkable. For good measure, Trump insists the mandates will lead to a blood bath in the auto industry and ultimately cost American workers jobs.

Trump also begun attacking the administration’s efforts to build a charging infrastructure for EVs as wasteful and expensive.

Trump plugs in

But the Republican candidate has softened his stance electric cars since being endorsed by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who is promising to pump $180 million into Trump’s Presidential bid.

Trump recently told supporters in Atlanta: “I’m for electric cars. I have to be because Elon endorsed me very strongly. So, I have no choice.”

However, according to TheHil.com, Trump also has said that Musk hadn’t pressured him to “lay off” his criticism of electric cars.

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• Musk’s Money in Hand, Trump Becomes an EV Fan
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• Biden Announces Sweeping Tariffs on Chinese EVs, Batteries

Organized labor

Trump has been directing a number of his attacks on United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain. Trump, in his bid for the support of blue-collar workers, has labeled Fain as “stupid,” and said he should be fired.

Fain, however, seems quite prepared to go “toe-to-toe” with Trump.

“He comes to Michigan. He talks about how he’s going to ‘bring back the auto industry.’ Let me tell you something,” said Fain during a Wednesday rally for the Democrats’ new ticket of Harris and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, which drew more than 15,000 to an airport hangar outside Detroit.

“Donald Trump doesn’t know shit- about the auto industry, and he doesn’t give a damn about the

working class in this country,” Fain added.

The Musk factor

During an interview on CNN the following day, Fain made it plain he plans to campaign hard for the Democratic ticket between now and election day. “The mission is to win the election,” said Fain, who has taken to describing Trump as a “lapdog for Elon Musk,” an avowed enemy of the UAW and one of the harshest critics of the union’s efforts to organize non-union plants across the country..

The Musk factor seem to be giving an extra edge to the UAW campaign against Trump. The day after the airport rally, Harris and Walz were invited to speak to a gathering of UAW members and officials at the UAW Local 900 Hall across the street from Ford Motor Co.’s sprawling Wayne Assembly plant.

During their remarks, Harris and Walz made a point of praising organized labor and emphasizing issues important to working class voters. “The work that you did (during the Stand-Up-Strike) didn’t just benefit UAW workers – it benefited all workers,” said Walz.

The fact that Harris and Walz met with UAW members from a suburban Detroit Ford plant underscores the perceived importance of the Michigan’s heavily unionized workforce. In 2016, Hilary Clinton was endorsed by the UAW, but she never bothered to talk much about the auto industry. Nor did she make any campaign stops in the state which Trump succeeded in carrying by 11,000 votes.