DETROIT – Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump told a crowd of 1,500 on Monday that the city of Detroit is the “living, breathing,” example of Hillary Clinton’s failed economic agenda, and until his plan focusing on America is implemented, there will not be real change.
Trump made an economic stump speech to the Detroit Economic Club, where he told the story of a city that was once the envy of the world but has fallen because the country stopped putting America first.
“The city of Detroit is where our story begins. Detroit was once the economic envy of the world. The people of Detroit helped to power America to its position of global dominance in the 21st Century,” Trump said. “When we were governed by the America-first policy, Detroit was absolutely booming. … (Living) out the American Dream. But for many living in this city that dream has long ago vanished. When we abandoned the policy of American first, we started rebuilding other countries instead of our own.”
Trump’s speech was different from others he’s made, sticking closely to the script and heavier on an agenda. After a bad week for his campaign that saw him fall far behind Clinton in national polls and battleground states, as well as continue to get caught up in a series of distractions, so important was this speech to try to turn the page that Trump’s running mate, Indiana Governor Mike Pence, made a surprise appearance to introduce Trump.
He focused on how Clinton would be bad for Detroit. He said she supports “taxes and radical regulations” that force out jobs, immigration policies that strain local budgets and trade deals that ship jobs overseas, he said.
“She is a candidate of the past, ours is the campaign of the future,” he said.
Though in his speech Trump focused more on policies, where he went through a variety of proposals briefly and on what he views as his opponents’ weaknesses, it was still interrupted more than a dozen times by protesters. One of those was Democratic former Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Detroit.
Trump said Detroit is controlled by Democratic politicians at every level, and until the policies are changed there will not be results.
He said President Barack Obama’s and Clinton’s policies have doubled the national debt and created a silent nation of jobless Americans. He also said those receiving food stamps, living in poverty and not participating in the workforce have increased under the “Obama-Clinton agenda.”
He pointed to 40 percent of Detroit residents living in poverty and its crime rate.
“Detroit tops the list in one of the most dangerous cities in terms of violent crime,” he said. “These are silenced victims whose stories are never told by Hillary Clinton.”
House Minority Leader Tim Greimel (D-Auburn Hills) blasted Trump’s speech.
“Instead of supporting American workers, Trump has sent his ties, suits, furniture and other products to be made overseas. Rather than making America’s economy work for everyone, he wants to run our country like a business – even though his businesses often end in bankruptcies,” Greimel said in a statement. “This November, we have an opportunity to defeat Trump and others who want to use government to reward their wealthy friends and special interests, and I’m confident voters will jump at that chance.”
Trump also proposed a variety of policy and tax changes, including reducing corporate tax rates from 35 percent to 15 percent, putting a moratorium on agency regulations and getting rid of executive orders that he said are illegal and overreaching.
“You cannot ever start a small business under the tremendous regulatory burden you have today in our country. I am going to end it,” he said. “I am going to cut regulations massively. Massively.”
Trump said the auto industry is one of the most regulated in the world. He said he would work with his daughter, Ivanka Trump, who attended the speech, to work on a plan to help get families much-needed relief. Part of his tax plan included making all child care expenses tax deductible.
Trump slammed and attempted to tie Clinton to trade policies like the North American Free Trade Agreement and the Trans Pacific Partnership. He said he would renegotiate NAFTA and would not enact the TPP.
“Only great and well-crafted trade deals where we as a country for once benefit instead of being taken advantage of,” he said. Because of trade deals, he said, there are far fewer auto workers in Detroit and he would only support deals that benefit American workers.
“Detroit is still waiting for Hillary Clinton’s apology,” he said. “She has been a disaster. Obama has been a disaster. I expect Detroit will get that apology right around the same time Hillary Clinton turns over those 33,000 emails she deleted.”
Trump’s other proposals were repealing “Obamacare,” ending the estate tax and scaling back U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rules that have led to coal plants shutting down or going through expensive updates, he said.
He also said as part of a “new future,” the military would be rebuilt and infrastructure in the country would see improvements. He said policies that support parents having a choice on where their children go to school would be on his agenda, and it would “be so good for Detroit.”
Pence said he has been getting to know Trump and they have become fast friends.
“Like so many other American entrepreneurs throughout our history, Donald Trump is a dreamer. He’s a builder and he’s a driver and he is a man who speaks his mind,” Pence said. “But … what’s so refreshing about Donald Trump, and what explains the connection he has literally made to millions of Americans, is because even as he has built skyscrapers to the sky, to the summits of the largest cities, he’s never forgotten the men and women who work with their hands.”
This story was published by Gongwer News Service. To subscribe, click on www.gongwer.com
