Trump visiting Michigan Ford factory, addressing manufacturing to Detroit Economic Club
DETROIT, Mich. (WWMT) — President Donald Trump is traveling to Michigan on Tuesday.
Trump is expected to begin his trip in Dearborn, MI, with a visit to a Ford factory that makes F-150 pickups, the bestselling domestic vehicle in the U.S., for a tour of the facilities around 12:30 p.m. His schedule also includes an address to the Detroit Economic Club at the MotorCity Casino Hotel in Detroit, MI, around 2:00 p.m.
The trip comes as consumers and businesses are feeling warry of the state of the U.S. economy coming into 2026, citing concerns about inflation and tariff uncertainty. Also in a close rearview is Ford, a key player in Michigan's manufacturing, announcing a shift away from producing electric vehicles (EVs) due to a $13 billion loss and an end to production of the electric F-150 Lightning, adding an additional $20 billion in estimated lost investment.
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The Biden administration is seen as a main driver of EVs due to the incentives brought about during his term, but with the Trump administration, those incentives are gone and lead to a shift away from investments in EV infrastructure.
Michigan, a hub for the auto industry, has seen billions already invested or planned to be into EV infrastructure, such as battery manufacturing plants and vehicle charging stations, in anticipation of the vehicles taking up a larger percent of the auto market in coming years. As policies have shifted under Trump's administration, however, these efforts are stalling out.
Trump's visit to Michigan is following economy-focused speeches he gave in Pennsylvania and North Carolina last month where he insisted his tariffs have boosted the economy, despite consumers noting the squeeze of higher prices, according to reporting from The Associated Press.
In the 2016 and 2024 elections, Trump carried Michigan, but lost the state in 2020 to Joe Biden. He marked his first 100 days in office on April 29, 2025, at Macomb Community College in Warren, MI, just outside of Detroit, briefly discussing tariffs, domestic manufacturing and the "big beautiful bill." He also spent time discussing the 2020 election, reiterating false claims that it was stolen from him.
While at Selfridge Air National Guard Base earlier in the day, joined by U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Trump spoke to members of the Michigan National Guard and announced the addition of 21 new F-15EXs fighter jets in part of the "game-changing" new F15-EX fighter mission, planned to begin arriving in FY28.
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He also announced intentions for a one trillion dollar national defense budget and a new Selfridge defense shield named "Golden Dome" to protect Michigan from "missile attack."
The Detroit Economic Club is expecting a full house, and tickets, offered to Detroit Economic Club members and their guests, are sold out.
Nearby, the Michigan Freedom Coalition is organizing a protest in response to Trump's visit, focusing their qualms on a rising cost of living and what they consider to be excessive aggressive federal immigration enforcement, such as the recent killing of Minneapolis, MIN, protestor Renee Nicole Good and the shooting of two Portland, OR, protestors.
Progress Michigan, a nonprofit communications team and media hub for progressive ideas, called Trump's visit a "vanity tour" and said his choice to speak to the Detroit Economic Club is "fitting" at a time when "the rich are getting richer and everyone else is hanging on by a thread."
The National Republican Congressional Committee, a political committee focused on increasing the number of Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives, feels more optimistic about Trump's visit and said he is reversing "disastrous economic damage" and "bringing manufacturing back home."
