Trump visits Michigan amid coronavirus pandemic, historic flooding and economic downturn

President Donald Trump will tour a Michigan factory assisting the COVID-19 pandemic response one day after threatening to withhold federal aid as the state grapples with an economic crisis caused by the virus.

Trump is scheduled to meet with African American leaders about how his administration will support minority communities during the pandemic, then tour Ford Motor Company’s Rawsonville manufacturing plant in Ypsilanti Township. The president’s visit is among a series of trips to battleground states that are critical to his re-election hopes, as Trump foregoes his signature campaign rallies due to the coronavirus, but will arrive in Michigan at a time when the state is dealing with record unemployment, 5,060 COVID deaths and catastrophic flooding that forced evacuations for thousands of residents.

Thursday’s visit is an official White House event and not explicitly a campaign rally, but the president has kept an eye on the election during similar stops in Michigan. Trump last visited in January to tour a Warren manufacturing facility and celebrate the passage of a new North American trade deal.

In the last month, Trump visited Arizona and Pennsylvania, while Vice President Mike Pence was dispatched to Indiana, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa and Florida. The president has used the visits to thank workers for mobilizing to produce ventilators and other vital equipment and push for states to reopen their economies.

Vincent Hutchings, a professor of political science at the University of Michigan and Ypsilanti resident, said the president appears focused on maintaining his presence in swing states. Trump won Michigan by a narrow 11,000 votes in 2016, becoming the first Republican to win the state in nearly three decades.

“It’s not unusual for a president to combine official duties of the president with campaign events," Hutchings said. "So that’s what Trump is doing, ostensibly, to visit these plants, but also because they are swing states.”

John Sellek, CEO of Harbor Strategic Public Affairs and a veteran Republican campaign strategist, said this is one advantage Trump has over his likely rival in November.

Presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden hasn’t visited or dispatched surrogates to stump in Michigan since March 10, the date of the presidential primary and when Michigan’s first case of COVID-19 was discovered. Biden has held a series of virtual events instead.

“That can’t match the presence of showing up here in person,” Sellek said. “The president has turned the corner on making visits out to states in whatever way is actually available to him.”

Trump won Michigan in part by promising to restore the state’s manufacturing sector, which makes up a critical segment of the Michigan economy. Manufacturing comprises 21% of Michigan’s gross domestic product and employs 13% of the state’s workforce while supporting jobs in various connected industries.

Michigan’s manufacturing sector steadily recovered throughout the last decade after facing a severe downturn during the 2008 Great Recession. Manufacturing employment continued to grow at a slower rate since Trump took office, and the sector shed 1,200 jobs in 2019.

Regardless, the U.S. was experiencing its longest period of economic expansion in history before the coronavirus stopped it the economy its tracks.

The U.S. economy lost 20.5 million jobs in April. The unemployment rate launched from 3.5% in February to 14.5% last month, the highest since the Great Depression. Some economists predict the unemployment rate could soar to 25% this year.

“When any president visits an auto factory in Michigan, regardless of the product they are producing, it’s really about one thing: The economy,” Sellek said. “It allows the president to be not only praising Michigan workers and our abilities to manufacture items but to pivot and start talking about what it’s going to take to reopen the economy and reduce this 25% unemployment rate.”

The pandemic put 1.7 million Michigan residents out of work. Michigan’s economy is incrementally reopening, but Trump has pushed Whitmer to move faster to “liberate" the state.

Whitmer reopened non-essential manufacturing facilities on May 11 and automakers returned to work in a limited capacity with new safety measures on Monday. Restaurants and stores in Northern Michigan are allowed to open in a reduced capacity starting Friday.

The phased reopening hasn’t come fast enough for business leaders, Republican lawmakers and conservative activists. Weekly demonstrations outside the Michigan Capitol feature protesters waving merchandise with Trump campaign slogans.

Whitmer is among potential vice-presidential candidates being considered by the Biden campaign, elevating her national profile and drawing Trump’s ire. The governor’s office said Trump’s visit opposes an executive order barring non-essential tours of manufacturing facilities.

A majority of likely Michigan voters disapprove of Trump’s handling of the coronavirus compared to Whitmer, according to a survey released by Public Policy Polling this week. The left-leaning polling firm found voters trust Whitmer more to protect Michigan from the virus by a 10-point margin.

The poll found 44% of respondents approved of Trump’s performance since taking office and 51% disapproved. Just over a quarter of surveyed voters believe Whitmer’s social distancing measures should be relaxed.

The governor isn’t planning to meet the president in Michigan. Whitmer was not invited to the Thursday tour, according to a spokesperson.

However, Trump said he spoke with Whitmer Wednesday about the severe flooding in Central Michigan. A Monday rainstorm overwhelmed two dams in Midland County, sending a torrent of muddy water downstream and forcing evacuations of thousands of residents.

“I just spoke with Gretchen Whitmer," Trump said. "I will be going to Michigan at the appropriate time. They have a big problem with the dams breaking. So that is a big big problem. And so we’ve sent the FEMA and the Army Corps of Engineers out, and they’re very good at dams, they’re probably better at than anybody you can think of, right? The Army Corps of Engineers have done a fantastic job.”

Trump fired off a series of statements on Twitter Wednesday morning threatening to withhold federal aid from Michigan. In a now-deleted tweet, Trump made a false claim about Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s move to send residents absentee ballot applications.

The president later told reporters that mail-in ballots are “a very dangerous thing” and a “subject of massive fraud.”

Hutchings said the threat to withhold federal aid over how states run their elections is “anti-democratic and a serious norm violation,” but not particularly surprising as the president works to undermine absentee voting.

“Well, that wasn’t terribly smart on one level I suppose, but on another level, it helps to put forth this notion that mail-in ballots somehow contribute to fraud,” Hutchings said. “It’s part of the usual playbook of the Trump administration. They make no secret of retaliation, to get naked political retaliation for states that don’t belong to his party or the take actions that are perceived as you know antithetical to the interest of his party.”

Absentee voting has become a more popular option since Michigan allowed anyone to vote by mail. Benson mailed 7.7 million registered voters an absentee ballot application using federal funds from the CARES Act.

“The vast majority of voters across the political spectrum want the option to vote by mail,” Benson said in a press release announcing the upcoming mailings. “Mailing applications to all registered voters is one of the ways that we are ensuring Michigan’s elections will continue to be safe, accurate and secure.”

White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany declined to say what federal funding could be on the chopping block during a Wednesday press conference.

Sellek said Trump’s threat is probably an empty one.

“I think that we’ve seen over time the president strategically controls the media narrative in the directions that he’s headed,” Sellek said. “He’s taking control of the headlines the best he can. He’ll make an outrageous or intense statement, everybody wants to talk to about the issue on his terms, and that’s what he wants. He’ll get here tomorrow, have everyone’s attention and start talking about the economy. Then by Friday or Saturday. We’ll be debating or arguing about something else.”

PREVENTION TIPS

In addition to washing hands regularly and not touching your face, officials recommend practicing social distancing, assuming anyone may be carrying the virus.

Health officials say you should be staying at least 6 feet away from others and working from home, if possible.

Use disinfecting wipes or disinfecting spray cleaners on frequently-touched surfaces in your home (door handles, faucets, countertops) and carry hand sanitizer with you when you go into places like stores.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has also issued an executive order requiring people to wear face coverings over their mouth and nose while inside enclosed, public spaces.

Read all of MLive’s coverage on the coronavirus at mlive.com/coronavirus.

Additional information is available at Michigan.gov/Coronavirus and CDC.gov/Coronavirus.

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