Rather than participate in the second Republican debate next week, former president Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he plans to visit Detroit to court union workers — a key segment of President Joe Biden's base.
While other Republican presidential contenders gather in Simi Valley, Calif., where the debate will be held, Trump will head to the Motor City to hold a rally with striking union autoworkers.
According to Politico, some Biden allies fear Trump is "outmaneuvering them" on the strike with his announced travel.
Biden, who has called himself the "most pro-union president in history," won the United Auto Workers' endorsement in 2020, but the union, which typically endorses Democrats, has not endorsed the president yet. UAW president Shawn Fain said the union needs to see more from Biden before making any endorsement decisions.
It's worth noting that this hardly means a Trump endorsement is likely. Fain has said another Trump term would be a "disaster," and he was less than pleased at the former president's announcement that he would visit Detroit and give a speech. "Every fiber of our union is being poured into fighting the billionaire class and an economy that enriches people like Donald Trump at the expense of workers," Fain said.
Still, even if Trump fails to win an endorsement from union leaders, the visit could help the former president build support with union members, a voting bloc that greatly contributed to Biden's 2020 win in Michigan.
Trump beat Hillary Clinton in Michigan in 2016, but he lost the state to Biden by a 2.78 percent margin in 2020. Biden was boosted in the state by his support among union households, which are 21 percent of the electorate. They supported Biden 56 percent to Trump's 42 percent, according to exit polling by the Associated Press.
Biden's strength with union members also helped him in other swing states, including Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, that Trump won in 2016.
The trip to Detroit is another example of Trump's seemingly moving beyond the Republican primary and eyeing the general election. (See also: his recent comments on abortion and transgenderism.)
Biden, for his part, has voiced support for the UAW since it went on strike.
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