Former President Donald Trump’s campaign is running a 30-second ad about jobs and the economy in seven television markets in Michigan, spending $952,462 so far, according to AdImpact. The ad denounces Vice President Kamala Harris on a key topic in a state where the auto industry is politically dominant: the rise of electric vehicles.
On the Screen
Video shows car bodies on a production line, followed by Harris, wearing a mask, charging an electric vehicle. As more clips of auto production unfold, a photo of Harris looking perturbed fills half the screen, followed by one of a man in a blue collared shirt with his arms folded unhappily. Headlines, some of them citing right-leaning outlets, bolster the ad’s case against her: “Harris to End All Gas Powered Cars.” “Ford Reports Loss on Every EV Sold.” “GM Scales Back EV Plans.” “Massive Layoffs Hit Michigan.” “Mounting Auto Industry Layoffs.”
The ad then offers a contrast: As a headline promises, “Trump Will Protect Auto Jobs,” he is shown touring a factory, his supporters are shown waving flags and holding signs suggesting they are autoworkers, he is shown pointing to listeners at a speech at a nonunion factory in Michigan, and he is seen at his rallies and shaking hands with construction workers.
The Script Narrator
“Attention autoworkers: Kamala Harris wants to end all gas-powered cars. Crazy but true. Harris’ push requiring electric-only is failing big. And Michigan autoworkers are paying the price. Massive layoffs already started. You could be next. President Trump’s committed to protecting America’s autoworkers. Standing up to China’s unfair trade. Fixing the economy. And ending inflation.”
Accuracy
Harris does not want to “end all gas-powered cars,” and the ad wildly overstates the goals of the Biden administration‘s initiatives on electric vehicles. In 2021, President Joe Biden announced a goal of having 50% of all new vehicles sold be electric powered by 2030. Electric vehicles now account for less than 10% of all new cars sold.
The “massive layoffs” headline, which the ad attributes to Newsweek, appears to refer to an article describing “mass layoffs” in Michigan and Missouri that totaled the losses of fewer than 3,000 jobs. By contrast, employment in the auto sector is up, even compared with prepandemic levels during the Trump administration.
Ford Motor Co. did report large losses on electric vehicles, because it was including its research-and-development investments in the costs. But car manufacturers largely supported the Biden administration’s push for more electric vehicles and have since increased investment and opened new plants.
Significantly, while Trump is described as “protecting America’s autoworkers,” the United Auto Workers endorsed Biden and then Harris.
The Takeaway
That the Trump campaign has spent so much on this ad around Michigan speaks to the importance of the state to Harris’ electoral vote path, as well as to the role that Trump’s focus on manufacturing over the past nine years has played in his own political potency.
The topic of electric vehicles has become part of the cultural feud between the two political parties, with Republicans using the phrase “EV mandate” as a buzz term. Trump has repeatedly criticized the Biden administration’s position on it.
The ad is focused on the economy, the issue that Trump’s team believes is his strongest. Yet while the spot is relatively tame compared to the apocalyptic tone of some of his ads, it still appeals to fear by warning autoworkers that layoffs could soon come for them.
