Former U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says most Americans do not believe President Donald Trump’s claim that his policies are creating an economic revival.
The president made the claim during a speech Tuesday to the Detroit Economic Club.
“After less than 12 months in office, I’m back in Michigan to report to you on the strongest and fastest economic turnaround in our country’s history,” said Trump.
The president claimed his tariff policy has “delivered us trillions of dollars of new investment … helped curb inflation, and helped cut the federal budget deficit.”
Trump said that tariffs were “overwhelmingly” paid by “foreign nations and middlemen” — even as economists say steep import taxes are simply passed from overseas manufactures to U.S. consumers, helping exacerbate fears about the rising cost of living.
Despite cheering tariffs, Trump has actually backed off the import taxes when it comes to the automobile sector. The president originally announced 25% tariffs on automobiles and auto parts, only to later relax that. The White House was seeking to provide domestic automakers some relief from seeing their production costs rise as the parts they use to build cars can cross borders multiple times, especially in Michigan, where the state's auto industry is heavily integrated with Canada's.
Buttigieg, a former Biden administration official, was at the Detroit Auto Show Wednesday where, during a session with reporters, he criticized President Trump’s claims.
“The president came to this city and told people basically not to believe their lying eyes in terms of the prices that they're paying ... in terms of what’s actually going on in our manufacturing sector,” said Buttigieg.
Three top Trump administration officials will stop by the Detroit auto show on Saturday.
Led by current U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, the officials are expected to tout Trump policies they claim are unleashing auto manufacturing and increasing consumer choice.
