President Donald J. Trump Remarks to the Detroit Economic Club

President Trump Speech Excerpts (as prepared) - “President Trump’s Plan to Save our Auto Industry”

Detroit, Michigan

October 10, 2024

🚨HIGHLIGHTS🚨

➡️ It was just announced that inflation came in substantially hotter than expected last month—double what was predicted -- with much of the gain coming from food prices going up, rent and housing costs going up, and car prices going up. Interest rates are a very big factor.

➡️ Today, I am announcing a detailed plan to save the American Auto-Industry, and bring millions of jobs back to our shores.

➡️ In my first term, I lowered the corporate tax rate from nearly 40% down to 21%, something they said could not be done. Now, what I am proposing is a 15% Made in America Corporate Tax Rate, cutting the tax from 21% all the way down to 15% - but again, ONLY for those who make their product in the USA.

➡️ U.S.-based carmakers and manufacturers will also be rewarded with expanded Research and Development tax credits, they will be able to write off 100% of the cost of heavy machinery and other equipment in the first year, and full expensing for new manufacturing investments—all helping to build the sprawling, state-of-the art plants our country needs to be an industrial superpower in the modern world.

➡️ Likewise, to help small businesses afford the work vehicles they need to get the job done, we will double the amount of equipment investment they can deduct under Section 179—from $500,000 to $1 million dollars.

➡️ Today, I am also announcing that as part of our tax cuts, we will make INTEREST ON CAR LOANS fully tax deductible, much like mortgage interest is deductible. This will stimulate massive domestic auto production, and make car ownership dramatically more affordable for millions of working American families.

➡️ As we speak, China is currently building gigantic auto plants in Mexico, and they think they are going to sell all of their cars into the United States, which would destroy Michigan, but IT’S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. I will impose whatever tariffs are required—100% if necessary. They are NOT going to plunder, rape, and steal our Car Industry. Those jobs are coming back to Michigan, and it’s non-negotiable. To that end, I am announcing today that upon taking office, I will formally notify Mexico and Canada of my intention to invoke the 6-year-renegotiation provision of the USMCA, the replacement to NAFTA and one of the best trade deals we ever made, to address these concerns.

➡️ And as we bring back our economy and our auto industry, I will continue my first-term efforts to protect America from the threat of Chinese Automobiles. I will stop Chinese-produced autonomous vehicles from operating on American roads—and I will close the loopholes under Biden and Harris that are beginning to allow Chinese vehicles to creep onto American streets.

FULL EXCERPTS:

It’s great to be back in Detroit, and it’s a true honor to be back at the Detroit Economic Club.
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It was just announced that inflation came in substantially hotter than expected last month—double what was predicted -- with much of the gain coming from food prices going up, rent and housing costs going up, and car prices going up. Interest rates are a very big factor.
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Four years ago when I left office, we had NO INFLATION—and we had virtually no inflation during my entire term. Under Biden and Harris, because of inflation, the economy has been a disaster, but Kamala says she can’t think of ONE THING she would do differently.
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The only way to end this suffering is to vote for CHANGE this November.
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I am here today to talk about a subject that has always been dear to my heart: SAVING the U.S. Auto Industry—and making it bigger, better, stronger, and more dynamic than ever before.
/// My goal is to see U.S. Auto Manufacturing even greater than when it was in its prime, and for DETROIT and MICHIGAN to be at the center of the action.
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For generations, this city and state were the World Capital of Automotive Production. American Automakers rolled one iconic model off the line after the next—the Mustang, the Corvette, the Pontiac GTO. Right here in Detroit, Americans invented the muscle car, the minivan, and the family SUV. And along the road, you made the American Automobile an inseparable part of the American Dream.
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But after decades of Michigan Auto Workers giving our nation their very best, our leaders in Washington did their very worst.
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The U.S. lost nearly 4 million manufacturing jobs after globalist politicians gave us the twin disasters of NAFTA and China’s entry into the WTO. Nearly a quarter of a million jobs were destroyed here in Michigan alone—including 40 percent of all auto jobs.
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Detroit was decimated as if by a foreign army. Factories were left in ruins. Beautiful hotels and theaters crumbled. More than 80,000 homes were abandoned.
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Just as I promised, I withdrew from the job-killing Trans-Pacific Partnership my very first week.
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I ended the disaster known as NAFTA, the worst trade deal ever made, and replaced it with the brand-new USMCA, the best trade deal ever made. With the USMCA, we have massive incentives to make cars in the United States.
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I renegotiated Obama’s Korea trade deal to fully restore the protective tariff on foreign pickup trucks. Without that tariff, every single one of the Detroit Big Three could right now be out of business—50% of their U.S. sales are pickup trucks.
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Perhaps most importantly, I imposed a 27.5 percent tariff on ALL Chinese automobiles. In other words, I kept Chinese cars OUT OF AMERICA.
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Under my leadership, we created nearly half a million brand new manufacturing jobs, including 30,000 auto manufacturing jobs. The share of cars sold that were domestically produced increased for the first time in years. The U.S. trade deficit in automobiles dropped by $6.8 billion dollars.
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But under Kamala, we are now in a manufacturing recession—with manufacturing contracting 22 out of the last 23 months. We have lost nearly 50,000 manufacturing jobs this year alone.
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Car sales are down 42 percent since I left. The share of domestically produced cars sold has dropped significantly, and the U.S. trade deficit in automobiles has exploded by over $50 billion, to an all-time high.
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We are not going to allow this horror to continue. The four-year long nightmare for the American Autoworker ends the day I take the oath of office.
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Today, I am announcing a detailed plan to save the American Auto-Industry, and bring millions of jobs back to our shores.
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Vote Trump, and you will see a mass exodus of manufacturing jobs from Mexico to Michigan, from Shanghai to Sterling Heights, and from Beijing to right here in Detroit. They will also be going to South Carolina, Tennessee, and others. 
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And our car industry will have a renaissance, the likes of which we have never seen before.
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It is my goal to getting it on the path where at some point in the near future, it will be bigger and more important than it ever was – even in its heyday many years ago. 
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This is PERSONAL for me. This was one of the biggest reasons I ran for president in the first place—and now, I am going to finish the job that we started once and for all.
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I intend for the triumph of the American Auto Industry to be among my greatest legacies. I want American companies to not only dominate the American market, but foreign markets as well.
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I want German Car Companies to become AMERICAN Car Companies. Instead of American Workers worrying about losing their jobs to foreign nations, I want foreign nations to be worried about losing their jobs to America.
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Here is the deal that I will be offering to companies and manufacturers all over the world…
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Story Time:

The date is November 25th, 2023. My wife and I attended the Poinsetta Bowl as guests of President Trump. As we entered the box suite, the first thing the President wanted to talk about was the fact that fake news and social media were saying he was booed when exiting his vehicle.

"Can you believe they said I got booed? I've never been booed a day in my life!"

As we stood with the President, Reanna and I assured him that the Dilley Meme Team was all over the situation and would resolve it before the night was over. "You're going to take care of this for me?"

Yes, Mr. President, we will handle it.

As he departed the suite to head down to the field level with his team, Reanna and I opted to stay in the suite and film the crowd reaction as he walked on the field. Our two videos would become the definitive videos of that day, as 90k+ adoring football fans stood up and gave the most passionate welcome you could imagine.

Before the night was over, our combined footage did over 25 million plays, and President @realDonaldTrump had posted it to his Truth Social page. This was as we first entered and took a picture.

I have the BEST highlight clips from President Trump's first administration. I'll drop them in this thread and take y'all on a trip down memory lane.

These are all clips I used on The Dilley Show during his first term. Some are old memes. Some are old clips.

Enjoy! We just had to follow him to the promise land...