Flying to a rally at General Motors this week, President Donald Trump declared that “car companies are doing better than they’ve ever done” thanks to his tariffs.
“All because of Trump,” he said.
It was a message the Republican president repeated while touring a collection of new vehicles, predicting that “it’s amazing what tariffs will do for General Motors” before autographing a white Corvette commemorating America’s 250th anniversary. He later told a crowd of cheering supporters that “Michigan is thriving.”
That’s not exactly true, according to many metrics. Tariffs have cost businesses in Michigan and across the country billions of dollars while helping to stoke inflation that has continued to run hot — despite Trump’s assurances his business background would wipe it out.
Many Americans believe tariffs have pushed prices higher and the war in Iran has increased gasoline prices, hurting consumer confidence in the economy while keeping Trump’s approval ratings low.
