Former President Donald Trump criticized US President Joe Biden, Democrats and three major automakers over electric cars in a speech to striking automakers in suburban Detroit, Michigan on Wednesday evening.

The speech came as his Republican opponents prepared to take the stage in California for the second Republican presidential debate, according to the network.CBS News“.

Trump said it doesn’t matter whether striking auto workers get a good deal in negotiations with major automakers, because the switch to electric cars will change things.Reuters“.

Trump spoke at Drake Enterprises, a non-union auto parts manufacturer and supplier in Clinton Charter Township, Michigan, but spent considerable time outside the hall addressing another audience: members of the United Auto Workers (UAW) union. According to CBS News, who went on strike in 20 states.

Trump’s speech and his personal demonstration of support for striking workers came a day after US President Joe Biden’s “historic visit” to the union picket line.

The former president praised the work of auto workers, saying they don’t get the recognition they deserve, while some attendees waved “unions for Trump” signs, CBS News reported.

“You will build this country,” Trump told his audience. He said he stands with American auto workers who want to “make America great again” and build cars that will “go even further into the future.”

According to CBS News, he also complained that automakers were “too stupid or too gutless” to invest in electric vehicle development.

A day after Biden visited the picket line, Trump criticized Biden’s record on auto manufacturing and labor.

“Biden came right after I announced that I would be here,” Trump said, adding that the US president only spoke for “a few seconds”.

According to CBS News, Trump announced his visit to the Detroit area before Biden arrived.

He added, “Biden’s order is not a government regulation. It’s a government assassination of your jobs and your industry.”

“The auto industry is being slaughtered,” he explained. “I don’t care what you get, I don’t care what you get in the next two, three weeks, five weeks. They’re going to close. ‘Going out there. Build those cars in China and other places. It’s a successful business in Michigan and Detroit.” “But it’s not sustainable.”

Trump stressed: “I want a future that protects American workers, not foreign workers,” reported “Reuters”.

“It doesn’t make a big difference what you get, because in two years, you’re all going to be out of a job,” Trump told the workers.

Trump gestured to the non-union crowd, “I hope the UAW and other union leaders support me,” while they tend to support Democrats, according to CBS.

Trump addressed the Auto Workers Union and its leaders and said, “Sean, I support Trump,” according to the network, turning his point toward Auto Workers Union President Sean Fine.

Trump decided to skip the second televised debate for the 2024 Republican presidential candidates, preferring to travel to Michigan to work on winning over blue-collar voters during the auto workers’ strike. According to Reuters, the enemy is Biden.

The network reported,CNN“Despite being an anti-union president, Trump has more support among union members than many Republican presidential candidates.

According to National Public Radio, Trump spent 30 minutes in his speech before addressing a second Republican debate that began at the same time as his speech in California.e.g“.

He pointed to his lead in the polls and mocked his Republican rivals, saying they were vying for jobs in his future administration.

In his speech, Trump disparaged the seven Republican presidential candidates participating in the debate, saying they were “all candidates for jobs,” according to Reuters.

Trump added, “Does anyone in the group see the vice president? I don’t think so.”

Other GOP contenders “want to be secretary of something,” the former president said. Amid cheers, he added: “They don’t have a crowd like we do,” the newspaper reported.Wall Street Journal“.

According to Reuters, Trump supporters gathered outside the Reagan Library before the presidential debate.

On Tuesday, US President Joe Biden joined auto workers’ protesters in the state of Michigan to show his support for their demands for higher wages. According to the White House, the nation.

“The truth of the matter is, you saved the auto industry in 2008 and before,” Biden said, wearing a UAW (short for United Auto Workers) hat.

“You’ve made a lot of sacrifices, companies were in trouble, but now they’re in incredibly good shape, and guess what, you should be in a similar situation. .”

Attendance at the sit-in was seen as the US administration’s strongest show of support so far for union members striking against General Motors, Ford and Stellandis.

Trump’s visit, which comes a day after Biden visited Michigan, where he joined auto workers’ union pickets, indicates the former president is focusing on his former and perhaps future adversary, Biden. NPR and Reuters polls trailed him.

Michigan voters helped both Trump and Biden win the White House, Trump in 2016 and Biden in 2020, as union voters decided both won the previous elections, according to “NPR”.