Members of the United Auto Workers union in Michigan told CNN on Wednesday why former President Donald Trump is receiving support in the swing state, citing electric vehicle (EV) mandates and the economy.
According to the RealClearPolling average of polls from April 11 to June 3, Trump leads President Joe Biden by 0.3% in a direct matchup in the state. When independent candidates Cornel West and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., along with Green Party candidate Jill Stein, are included in the surveys, Trump and Biden are tied at 42.3%. During a segment, CNN reporter John King spoke with several autoworkers in Michigan to gather their insights.
“I’ve watched this region go from the arsenal of democracy, now, we’re happy if we can get a sports stadium or we‘re going to sell weed or fireworks or whatever. It‘s absolutely pathetic what we have sunk to now and our politicians just… they’re good with it, he isn’t, so that’s the difference,” autoworker Chris Vitale, who plans on going against the UAW leadership’s endorsement of Biden to vote for Trump, told King.
Vitale also criticized Biden’s push for electric vehicles (EVs). In August 2022, Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act, which includes a $7,500 tax credit for EVs, into law. He has also advocated for the adoption of EVs, including implementing fuel-efficiency regulations for light, medium, and heavy-duty vehicles.
“The government seems to be appeasing the coasts,” Vitale told King. “You know, everyone who lives in Manhattan, thinks everyone should drive an electric car.”
Former UAW President Bob King told a CNN reporter that conditions over the past decade have significantly contributed to Trump’s growing support.
“People feel like the government and the establishment hasn’t been delivering for them,” the former UAW president said. “Is their life better now than it was ten years ago, or worse? For many working people, it’s worse. Their standard of living has deteriorated in some cases, their community has deteriorated.”
Walter Robinson, who remains a Biden supporter, noted that despite his efforts to convince Trump-supporting colleagues that Trump couldn’t relate to them due to his lack of “physical work,” cultural issues and the economy led at least 40% of his co-workers to back the presumptive GOP nominee.
“Gas prices are still pretty high,” Robinson told CNN’s King. “Food, when you go to the grocery store, every time it’s just me and my wife and it’s $200 every time I go to the grocery store.”
