President Donald Trump visited Detroit Tuesday, speaking to the city's business leaders and autoworkers about his vision for the U.S. economy.
The White House appeared to choose Michigan intentionally, as it's a critical battleground state and the symbolic heart of the auto industry.
The president specifically touted commitments for investments from Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, along with low gas prices and his new initiatives to ban investors from buying up housing, investing in mortgage bonds and capping credit card interest rates.
He also briefly lamented current interest rates and acknowledged his tension with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
"Today, if you announce great numbers, they raise interest rates to try and kill it, so you can never really have the kind of rally you should have," President Trump said. "You announce unbelievable numbers and the market goes down because they know they're gonna, you're going to do everything possible in the Fed. We have a real stiff in the Fed, but that's for another day. But they raise rates."
"When there's good news, the market should go up, not go down. Does that make sense to everybody?" the president said.
The Federal Reserve has not raised rates during Trump's current term.
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Despite the president's self-described favorite word being tariffs, economists warn tariffs are inflationary, and inflation remains persistent.
Prices are largely up year over year, though the inflation report today did remain relatively steady. Job growth slowed sharply in 2025 with the slowest net job creation since the pandemic era. Manufacturing jobs nationally have been declining even as the administration points to gains.
Ford announced Monday that it's adding 1,200 jobs in Dearborn, Michigan, and adding production jobs in Tennessee. The news comes shortly after the company announced it would shut down production of its all-electric trucks.
In response to the President's visit to Michigan, DNC Chair Ken Martin wrote in part in a statement, "Under Donald Trump’s failed economic policies, Michiganders are seeing their paychecks get tighter, and jobs disappear. And today, Trump tried to gaslight Michigan families once again."
