Donald Trump will visit striking auto workers instead of participating in the 2nd GOP Debate.

 

Donald Trump during the Pray Vote Stand Summit. AP. 

Donald Trump will visit striking auto workers instead of participating in the 2nd GOP Debate. AP. Trump says he is focusing on beating Joe Biden due to his massive lead in the GOP primary polling. He has focused on striking autoworkers who he says are being targeted for destruction by the Biden Administration via electric car mandates and "green" energy policies. Trump has focused on working class Americans like the striking autoworkers. Despite the positive attention to union members, the UAW spokesman attacked Trump. 

My Comment:

This is a good move by Trump. I have already argued that it makes zero sense for Donald Trump to participate in GOP debates when he's got the majority of primary voters on his side in the first place. Especially since the moderators would be biased against him and the fact that people like Chris Christie will do nothing but attack him. Trump is a good debater, which isn't really arguable, but the juice isn't worth the squeeze. 

I also think that Trump's speech is likely to get better ratings than the debate. For most people the GOP race is settled and there isn't really anyone who can beat Trump. DeSantis is a joke right now, and nobody else really seems to be in it to win it. Ramaswamy and Haley are appearing to position themselves for the VP nod while Christie and Hutchinson are only in there to get on the talk show circuit to attack Trump. There really isn't a reason to watch a debate between a bunch of also-rans. 

As for the strike, I kind of thought the demands were a bit much but I do understand why they are making them. People are struggling right now and an autoworker job is supposed to provide for a family. Given how stagnant wages are right now and high corporate profits are I don't blame people for striking. 

There is, of course, a risk that the dispute will be resolved before this speech is supposed to happen. The UAW now has another reason to do so as they hate Trump because they are more of a booster of the Democrats than an actual union. Despite the workers themselves likely welcoming Trump and probably voting for him as well, the union heads are firmly in the hands of the Democratic Party. 

I do think that Trump has a point about Biden making war on the auto industry. There is little reason to switch to electric vehicles in the first place and doing so will make us incredibly reliant on China for rare earth metals for the batteries. Speaking of rare earth metals, there are probably not enough produced to meet the demand for new cars so this is just going to screw over everyone. The fact that Biden and his team is focused on electric vehicles instead of hybrids, which are both more affordable, proven technology and doesn't become a brick if the electric grid goes down.

Going after labor is also a good idea for the GOP in general. I think that labor understands that Democratic polices are not in their interests and I do think that labor is generally ignored and taken for granted by the party. Trump has little to lose to make a play for these voters and a lot to gain. It's just one other group that he could try and peel away from the Democrats.