Trump warns of decaying economy, vows to ‘save’ US auto industry at Michigan rally

Former President Donald Trump used a campaign rally in Michigan’s bellwether Saginaw County on Wednesday to lash out against the legal system, Chinese car companies and President Joe Biden.

Amid the weekly pause in his ongoing “hush money” trial, Trump campaigned this week in the battleground states of Wisconsin and Michigan, telling the crowds that the legal system was trying to silence their vote by silencing him as a candidate.

Inside an airplane hangar in Freeland, Michigan on Wednesday, he immediately went on the attack, telling his thousands of supporters that Biden’s policies were hurting the U.S. economy and leading American cities into decay.

“Right now they’re crime-ridden, they’re falling apart. They’re run by Democrats,” he said. “I’ll work with the Democrats, we’re gonna re-build our cities. Do you see what’s happening with your cities? You see Detroit. For 35 years I’ve heard about this great comeback in Detroit, and we’re still waiting.”

Trump did not mention Detroit hosting hundreds of thousands of people during the recent NFL draft without any incidents.

Among his other biggest targets were the legal actions against him that Trump asserts are motivated by politics.

“The ultimate verdict on this travesty will not come in a courtroom, it will come at the ballot box. And the American people will find crooked Joe Biden guilty of trying to destroy our country, he’s destroying our country,” he said.

Trump also repeated false claims of ballot fraud in Detroit during the 2020 election, and vowed to “save” Michigan’s signature auto industry by steering away from electric vehicles and heavily taxing cars made by Chinese companies.