Watch: Donald Trump holds town hall in Warren

WARREN, Mich. (FOX 2) - Making yet another effort to win the swing state in the upcoming election, former President Donald Trump's 10th visit to Michigan on Friday included stops in two cities that are on opposite sides of the state.

Campaigning as the 2024 Republican presidential nominee, Trump's first stop was near Grand Rapids. He finished the doubleheader by hosting a town hall at Macomb Community College in Warren.

The Warren town hall was live-streamed by FOX 2 and can be watched in the player above.

Trump spoke mainly about border security and manufacturing as he fielded mostly questions from autoworkers either laid off or concerned for their jobs.

Where did Trump rally in Warren?

Trump was at Macomb Community College's field house at 14500 12 Mile Rd. in Warren. The event was hosted by GOP Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn.

What did Trump address?

In Warren, Trump talked about the auto-industry and creating more American manufacturing jobs - as well as getting the economy back on track. 

The Economy:

Blackburn said the inflation rate under Trump was 1.4% with the current Joe Biden and Kamala Harris regime responsible for a rise to 20.3 percent.

Trump boasted of a drop in energy costs by 50 percent after the first 12 months he is in office - propped up by a push to be energy independent.

"They went crazy and the green new scam, and they were spending on things that didn't help the country, and it also drove so between the energy and the spending, the inflation went up, and food prices came with it, and rent came with it," he said. "So we're going to bring it down with energy and interest rates. 

"We have more oil and gas liquid gold than any country in the world, including Saudi Arabia and Russia. And we're going to bring it down. We're going to bring your energy bills down, and also business for business, where they can employ people, but we're going to bring the energy down by 50% in the first five, oh, 50% in the first 12 months. And when we do that, everything else is going to follow."

Manufacturing in America:

An auto worker named Nico said he was recently laid off from Detroit Diesel and asked what a Trump White House could do for manufacturing and the car industry.

"So what we're saying is, Nico, we're going to have these companies that want to build in Mexico. They want to build in China. They want if they want to do business in the United States, they have to make their product, whether it's a car or anything else, we want them to make their product their plant in the United States," he said. "We're going to make fair trade by charging them tariffs. If they want to come in and steal our wealth and steal our jobs and steal our companies, then they have to pay a price for that."

A man named Tony who said he worked for a auto supplier of the Big Three asked about bringing jobs back to America.

Trump said tariffs will be used, then added a tax incentive for companies. He said his tax rate for dropped from 39% to 21% the last time he was in office. His plan now is to drop it from 21% to 15% but "Only if you have to make your product in the USA. So if you want to take advantage of the low tax rate, you have to make your product. So we'll be down to 15% that gives us one of the lowest tax rates in the whole world. So it's more competitive."

Taxes:

Trump again touted his no tax on tips or Social Security and claimed that Harris wants to raise taxes by letting his previous tax cuts to sunset when they run out next year.

"They want to take out the Trump tax cuts, which will, I think, close to depression time, not recession, but depression time, because it's the biggest tax cut in the history of our country. And you got a lot of other things too. Estate tax, death tax. If you have children and you want to leave your business to them - does anybody not love their children? Because if you don't love your children, then it doesn't help you too much, but if you want to leave it to anybody, but you had no zero estate tax, zero death tax. 

"Because you would have a farm, and you'd leave it to your children, and they have a big tax to pay, they go out to the bank, they'd borrow the money, they'd end up losing the farm and living like hell. And the people that that are involved in this stuff really say that's one of the best things. You have no estate or death tax to pay. So it's really great."

Trump reveals ‘all-time favorite American car’

The last question of the night by Todd from Shelby, who said his plant was soon laying 2,000 workers off, finished the night on a light note. He wanted to know Trump's favorite American car. His answer? Cadillac.

"My father was a great guy. I learned so much from him, and he loved Cadillac. I mean, his biggest luxury in life was to get a brand new dark blue Cadillac every two years," he said. "I think it's a great car. I think it's right now. It's really it's come a long way too, because it's come through some problems, but it's a very good car. I buy a lot of them for different clubs and things, and it's great. And they're very nice people that run the company, but my father like Cadillac, so that's good enough for me."

Trump's prior Michigan campaign visits 

Trump's last trip to Michigan was in Flint on Sept. 17. He addressed the American auto industry while emphasizing the need to bring back manufacturing jobs, his energy plans and how he thinks they will aid an economic recovery, and the most recent assassination attempt against him while golfing in Florida.

Prior to Flint, Trump made a stop at a manufacturing plant in Pottersville on Aug. 29, where he announced that he would make in vitro fertilization (IVF) free if he was elected president. While Trump has frequently aligned himself with opponents of abortion, including attending the March for Life as president, his recent softening on the issue represents a dramatic shift in the candidate's attempt to reframe his stance. 

Politicians respond to Trump's 10th Michigan visit

"Under Donald Trump, Michigan lost 280,000 jobs, and he gave tax breaks to companies shipping those jobs overseas," Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said in a video on X in response to Trump's Michigan visit on Friday. "Over the last three and a half years, we've worked with Vice President Harris to bring Michigan manufacturing back together. We created and protected hundreds of 1000s of jobs."

Whitmer endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for president over the summer. 

The Michigan governor says Harris will fight to "keep making stuff that America needs right here in Michigan," "lower costs, and help working families get ahead."

"Michigan built the auto industry, and we will continue to define its future," Whitmer added.

The chair of the Michigan Democratic Party, Lavora Barnes, said Trump will always serve himself first and called Harris and her running mate Gov. Tim Walz "champions for the middle class."

"As President, Trump stood in Warren and promised that no more manufacturing plants would close under his watch, and yet Michiganders watched as the GM factory in Warren shuttered its doors and they lost hundreds of jobs," she said. "He has proven that we can’t trust a single thing he says – especially when it comes to putting Michigan jobs first," 

In his own statement, Republican nominee for U.S. Senate Mike Rogers welcomed Trump back to the "great manufacturing state of Michigan."

Rogers is up against U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin for the open senate seat to represent Michigan.

"Biden-Harris and Slotkin's void of leadership paired with job-killing EV mandates and wasteful spending have crippled our auto industry and drove up costs for families living paycheck to paycheck," Rogers said. "President Trump and I will fight for Michigan workers and manufacturers in Washington and give them the relief they desperately deserve."

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