Michigan's autoworkers are coming out strong for former President Donald Trump because of the loss of more than 29,000 manufacturing jobs since President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democrats' nominee, took office almost four years ago, Senate candidate Mike Rogers told Newsmax on Sunday.
"We've lost 29,000 manufacturing jobs just in the last four years, 9,500 in the last jobs report, all related to manufacturing, Rogers, a former U.S. representative, told Newsmax's "Sunday Report," while blaming Harris and his opponent, Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., for the losses.
"It has been a huge problem for us here in Michigan," he continued, noting that the government's electronic vehicle (EV) mandates are driving up costs.
"People are starting to wake up to what the reality is for their personal economics, and that's why they're voting Republican," he added. "That's why they're voting for Donald Trump."
EV mandates, Rogers pointed out, take away jobs because there is less need for laborers to build cars.
"According to the CEO of Ford, 40% less labor is needed for building EV cars. So if you do 1.1 million Michigan workers associated with what we call here the mobility of manufacturing, which is anything to do with gasoline, gas-powered cars, trucks, vehicles, and other things, and you take 40% of that's 400,000 manufacturing jobs gone."
Meanwhile, 75% of Michiganders said they wouldn't buy an EV, Rogers said. "The rest of the country also is not all that enamored with them. The only reason it's been so disruptive is because the government said, companies, you have to build these. We're going to force people to buy these cars."
The automakers are now announcing thousands of layoffs or losses, including with Ford, which reported losing $5 billion in just its EV unit, he added.
"It has been devastating," Rogers said. "This is why you don't want the government deciding what kind of car you should drive. Let the market do this. Hybrids work. Hybrids also take carbon out of the air."
Michigan, he continued, is tied to the automobile industry, so the EV mandates have been "devastating."
And even though the Democrats are claiming they don't really mean they'll seek mandates, that isn't true, said Rogers.
"This is really ridiculous," he said. "We're paying a huge price. That's why you see Trump doing so well and that's why we're winning here in the state as well."
Slotkin is leading by a few points in polls in the state, but Rogers said that Republicans "have one of the best ground games that we've ever had" and there has been a steady increase in support.
"We've been on the surge since Oct. 1," he said. "We're going to ride the momentum into Nov. 5. And people are again starting to wake up to this and understand, Hey, guess what? There's a lot at stake. Like the fact that I can't afford breakfast for my kids tomorrow. All of that can be changed by electing Donald Trump [as president] and Mike Rogers to the United States Senate."
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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