Donald Trump to Michiganders: ‘Just Look at the Devastation’

During a speech Monday in Warren, Michigan, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump once again rolled out his urban renewal plan, his “New Deal for Black America,” and his economic plan to spur job creation in the U.S.

His audience didn’t have to look far to find the alternative—and Trump made sure they saw it:

Michigan has lost more than 1 in 4 manufacturing jobs since Bill Clinton signed NAFTA, a deal strongly supported by Hillary Clinton.

Before NAFTA went into effect, there were 280,000 auto workers in Michigan. Today, that number is only 160,000.

Our country has lost 70,000 factories since China entered the World Trade Organization—another Bill- and Hillary-backed deal.

We have nearly an $800 billion annual trade deficit with the world.

We are living through the greatest jobs theft in the history of the world.

Our trade deficit with China grew almost 40 percent during Hillary’s tenure as Secretary of State. Her trade deal with South Korea killed another 100,000 America jobs.

So when you look around Michigan, and you see the rusted-out factories, the empty buildings, and the long unemployment lines, remember: Hillary Clinton did much of this to you.

Hillary got rich selling your jobs—the same special interests who pushed the jobs out of America are the people who’ve given countless millions to the Clintons. Hillary gets rich making America poor.

Just look at the devastation.

Delphi laid off 3,627 workers here in Michigan. Most of those jobs went to Mexico.

We are going to fight for the workers at Delphi. They got a raw deal, and they deserve better.

GM laid off 314 workers at the Lake Orion Assembly Plant in 2013 because of imports from the South Korean trade deal pushed through by Hillary Clinton.

Lear Corporation laid off another 50 people in Rochester Hills and moved their jobs to South Korea.

FTE Automotive laid off 166 people in Auburn Hills. Their jobs went to Mexico.

Chrysler laid off over 5,300 workers. Those jobs went to Mexico, China, India and other countries.

Ford laid off 2,155 workers. Those jobs went to other countries.

Now, Ford is moving all if its small car production to Mexico.

A Trump Administration will stop the flight of American jobs.

If Ford, or another company, announces they want to move their jobs to Mexico or another country, then I will pick up the phone—I will call the executives—and I will tell them that if they want do that, we will charge a 35 percent tax when they try to ship their products back across the border.

It used to be the cars were made in Flint and you couldn’t drink the water in Mexico. Now, the cars are made in Mexico and you can’t drink the water in Flint.

We are going to turn it all around.

We are going to rebuild Flint.

We are going to rebuild Detroit.

And we are going to rebuild Michigan.

I’d like to share a special message today with the African-American community in Michigan which has been so terribly harmed by the policies of the Clintons.

Look at the City of Detroit. It used to be the manufacturing hub of the world—now, nearly half of Detroit residents do not work, it has the second-highest violent crime rate in the country, and the children are trapped in failing government schools.

Yet as the people of Detroit suffer, Hillary wants to spend trillions of dollars on government benefits for illegal immigrants and refugees.

I’ve outlined a plan for urban renewal, it’s called A New Deal For Black America. That deal includes a plan to use the money we will save by securing our border, and curbing refugee admissions, to invest in communities like Flint and Detroit.

It includes a pledge of school choice for African-American children.

My plan also includes a promise to cancel billions in climate change spending for the United Nations—a number Hillary wants to increase—and instead use that money to provide for American infrastructure, including clean water in cities like Flint.

My plan also includes a pledge to reduce violent crime—every child in this nation has a right to grow up in safety and peace.

And my plan includes a pledge to restore manufacturing in the United States.

Hillary and the Democratic Party have run the inner cities for years, and only produced more poverty. The time has come for real change—I’m asking you for the honor of your vote so that together we can turn decades of political failure into generations of lasting success.

Hillary, on the other hand, wants to destroy what’s left of manufacturing in Michigan with the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

A Trump administration will stop the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

We will renegotiate NAFTA and, if we don’t get the deal we want, we will terminate NAFTA and get a much better deal.

We are going to lower taxes on American business from 35 percent to 15 percent.

We are going to massively cut taxes for the Middle Class.

We will unleash American energy—including shale, oil, natural gas and clean coal. The Obama-Clinton war on coal is going to cost this state 50,000 jobs.

We will also work to restore and protect the Great Lakes.

We are going to become a rich country again.

Trump also hammered away at Obamacare.

“I’m asking you to believe in America once again. But to bring back your jobs, we must also immediately repeal and replace Obamacare,” he said. “It’s just been announced that Michigan residents are going to experience crushing double-digit premium hikes.”

While noting that nearby Minnesota would see premium increases of nearly 60 percent, prompting their governor—a Democrat—to declare, “the Affordable Care Act is no longer affordable,” he took a swipe at his opponent. Clinton, he said, wants to “double-down on Obamacare, making it even more expensive—in fact, much more expensive.”

“I’m asking for your vote so we can replace Obamacare and save health care for every family in Michigan,” Trump said.

After the event, the GOP nominee was praised by U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.), who said Trump’s “Contract With the American Voter” will “renew the United States economy, repeal Obamacare, bolster our infrastructure and put working families first.”

“Hillary Clinton, on the other hand, is embroiled in further questions surrounding the FBI investigation into her tenure as secretary of state,” he added. “The American people have had enough of the scandals and hollow promises from Washington and are ready for real change. That is why we will elect Donald Trump to be our next President.”

Michigan is a “deep blue” state that most experts say will go to Clinton on Nov. 8, but in recent days, the polls there have tightened, just as they have in many of the battleground states. His upcoming schedule puts him in several of those hotly contested states, including Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Florida and North Carolina.