Last year, Donald Trump tried to take credit for General Motors’ jobs he didn’t create. He did this on the shoulders of news that General Motors was announcing downturns in their plans to expand business. Since that time, instead of doing anything to actually foster a healthier economy, Trump and his Republican henchmen have cut revenues in order to give out tax welfare to corporations, and pushed for poorly thought-out trade tariffs. Local news outlets are reporting that employees of the General Motors plant in Lordstown, Ohio, have been told that the company plans on closing the plant next year.
The Lordstown plant employed around 4,500 people when Trump came into office, and has dwindled since. GM announced plans to cut “second shifts” at the plant back in the spring, leading many conservative folks to wonder out loud whether this was what Trump meant when he said he would “Make America Great Again.” The irony, if you can call it that, is that many of the people being laid off and losing their livelihoods supported Trump and the very same Republicans, elected officials who have done next to nothing to secure these industries or promote better jobs in their areas. People like Tommy Wolikow, interviewed by the Guardian, who was let go of his job at the Lordstown plant on Trump’s Inauguration Day in 2017, but believed Trump when he told them at a rally to “not sell your house.”
It’s been two years now since his election and all I see is more job losses. I went back to school, I’m a qualified diesel technician, I got my Class A [commercial] driver’s license. I did what you are supposed to do. The jobs that are out there in my area are all low-paying. I can’t raise my three daughters on those wages. People are picking up and leaving.
My fiancee [who worked at GM and was laid off] and I were making $50 an hour. Now she’s making $4.15 an hour plus tips as a waitress at Cracker Barrel. I have credit card debts, I don’t know how I’ll get out of this hole. I had a boat, a motorcycle – I had all the luxuries of a good-paying job, now I don’t have any of that.
General Motors also announced it will be cutting 14,500 jobs in general, according to AP.
Trump did not create the problems facing General Motors, but he has done less than nothing to ameliorate them. In fact, he has arguably exacerbated the issues facing these companies by fostering uncertainty around the globe. Unsurprisingly, Trump has shown very little concern for those people who voted for him. His next round of tweets will likely be about how no jobs are lost and how everyone in America now has a job at GM.