Thousands of United Auto Workers members went on strike Friday against General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis, and former president Donald Trump threatened that the jobs of American auto workers would be sent to China and criticized the union’s leadership for abandoning its members.
“Kristen, because all of these automobiles are going to be produced in China, there won’t be any jobs for auto workers. Automatically, China will produce the electric vehicles, Trump told Kristen Welker of NBC News.
The conversation, which will be Welker’s first as “Meet the Press” host, will run on Sunday on NBC affiliates all around the country. President Joe Biden has also been invited by NBC News to have a conversation with Welker.
The Republican front-runner for president continued, “The auto workers’ leadership is being sold down the river, and their leadership should endorse Trump.”
After failed negotiations on a number of topics, including greater pay, approximately 13,000 American auto employees stopped producing vehicles and went on strike.
The United Auto Workers union struck for the first time at the same time as the three major automakers.
Trump singled out Shawn Fain, president of the UAW, for criticism. “Since he won’t have a union in three years, I don’t think he’s doing a good job of representing his union. Because all of those electric vehicles will be produced in China, all of those jobs will be lost. That’s what’s happening, according to Trump.
A second Trump administration, according to Fain, would be a “disaster.” He has, however, refrained from endorsing Vice President Joe Biden.
Following an effort by the two biggest economies in the world to improve trade relations, the deteriorating relationship between Washington and Beijing has gotten worse.
In the race for the presidency in the United States, Trump has made an effort to claim the title of the most ardent China hawk. Additionally, he attempted to use Biden’s electric vehicle effort as a major argument against the president.