Democrats are reportedly panicking over plans by former President Donald Trump, the front-runner of the GOP presidential primary, to visit auto workers striking against General Motors (GM), Ford, and Stellantis in Detroit, Michigan.
Members of the United Auto Workers (UAW) are currently on strike against the Big Three, pushing to secure a new labor contract that includes wage increases to keep up with inflation and commitments that their jobs will not be eliminated by Biden’s Electric Vehicles (EVs) agenda.
This week, sources confirmed to Breitbart News that Trump will skip the second GOP primary debate and instead visit striking auto workers in Detroit.
Trump’s planned visit, according to Politico, has Democrats and President Joe Biden’s White House rattled, with one union adviser calling the move “kinda genius.”
“We should not underestimate Donald Trump. He’s a survivor and this is going to be a very hard-fought campaign,” Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) told Politico.
“We need a message to working-class Americans,” Khanna said. “Right now, they’re still hurting in terms of gas prices, food prices, housing costs, utility costs, and they don’t feel like their wages are going up fast enough, and they feel like the very wealthy are getting too much of the rewards. That’s what I heard on the picket lines.”
United Auto Workers members and supporters rally at the Stellantis North America headquarters on September 20, 2023 in Auburn Hills, Michigan. (Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)
Members of the United Auto Workers (UAW) union hold a practice picket in front of Stellantis headquarters in Auburn Hills, Michigan, on September 20, 2023. (MATTHEW HATCHER/AFP via Getty Images)
Members of the United Auto Workers (UAW) union hold a practice picket in front of Stellantis headquarters in Auburn Hills, Michigan, on September 20, 2023. (MATTHEW HATCHER/AFP via Getty Images)
Likewise, a Democrat strategist told Politico that “Trump scooped us” with the visit to striking auto workers, referencing the fact that Biden has yet to make a stop. Biden sought to send two administration officials to negotiate a contract between the Big Three and auto workers but the trip was canceled after pushback from the UAW.
“Now if we announce we’re going, it looks like we’re just going because of Trump,” the strategist said. “We waited too long. That’s the challenge.”
By visiting striking auto workers, Trump is looking to rebuild his 2016 victory coalition that included gaining historic support from union households and the white working class. In the last four years, polls show that the average Republican voter is increasingly siding with union workers over company executives.
In 2019, when UAW members led a strike against GM for a fairer contract, only 25 percent of Republicans said they backed the union against the automaker. Today, 35 percent of Republicans say they support the UAW against the Big Three — a 10-point swing in favor of union workers.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jbinder@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter here.
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