Trump touts economy in Detroit, tours Dearborn auto plant in visit to MI

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — President Donald Trump touched down in Detroit on Tuesday for a trip anchored in the economy.

“The results are in,” he said. “And the Trump economic boom has officially begun.”

Trump was greeted by both applause during his speech to the Detroit Economic Club, as well as opposition to his visit.

“What’s going on in this country is pretty heinous, if I’m honest,” said Caroline Cueter, who was demonstrating Tuesday morning and described herself as a concerned citizen.

“I just think it’s important to show up and let, especially the president, know that a city like Detroit won’t put up with his antics,” Cueter told FOX 2 Detroit.

And on the economy, according to the Detroit News, a new poll commissioned by the publication and WDIV-TV of 600 likely voters showed that nearly two-thirds said their household costs rose in the past year.

A new Consumer Price Index release from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, made public Tuesday morning, also found that, for the 12 months ending in December 2025, the “all items index” rose by 2.7%. The food index, it noted, rose by 3.1% for that same time period.

The BLS also found that, for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls, seasonally adjusted average hourly and weekly earnings rose by 3.8% over the year.

Amidst the mix in the new data, the president struck a positive fiscal tune.

“Under our administration, growth is exploding, productivity is soaring, investment is booming, incomes are rising, inflation is defeated,” Trump said. “America is respected again like never before.”

According to a report from the Bureau of Economic Analysis that was released last week, the U.S. trade deficit dropped nearly $19 billion from September to October 2025. Trump tied the drop to new tariffs that, in their initial form, sent shockwaves around the globe last spring.

“It was the tariff that made America strong and powerful in past generations,” Trump said.

“Now,” he later said, “it’s tariffs that are making money for Michigan.”

Trump also visited a Ford plant in Dearborn during his visit to a state heavily intertwined with the health of the industry.

“I terminated the insane electric vehicle mandate and ended the war on internal combustion engines once and for all,” Trump said, seemingly pointing to EV strategy during the administration of former President Joe Biden that some felt amounted to a government mandate.

“I’m standing up for the American auto worker like no president has ever stood up before,” he said.

And how is the state of the auto industry one year into the president’s second term?

“The state of the auto industry, I would say, is better than what would have been feared when the tariff situation really kind of intensified in sort of that April timeframe of last year,” said Mike Wall, who works as the executive director of automotive analysis at S&P Global. “But we’re still in a bit of transition. We’re still kind of feeling our way through the kind of lingering impacts of tariffs.”

Adjustments to initial tariffs, Wall signaled, changed the dynamic.

Car sales have held up well, he said. But with consumers stretched in monthly payments and loans, whether that will keep up is a concern.

“I think what you’re going to see is, by some automakers in particular, starting to come out with some more entry- and mid-trims,” he said. “What does that mean? That means, hopefully, a more affordable vehicle at the dealership level. That doesn’t mean automakers are going to be slashing prices, but they’re going to be optimally sizing the offering, and really tailoring those offerings to the consumer.”