President Donald Trump ramped up his public attacks against both General Motors and an Ohio union leader to try get an Ohio auto plant reopened.The factory officially closed its doors March 6 despite pressure from Trump, both Ohio senators, and United Auto Workers members to save some 1,500 jobs in the Lordstown plant. On Sunday, Trump said that he spoke GM CEO Mary Barra, who had blamed the union for the plant’s closure. Trump started the attacks over the weekend and continued them into Monday, urging Barra to sell the plant or begin talks to revive it.
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“General Motors and the UAW are going to start ‘talks’ in September/October,” Trump tweeted Monday morning, seemingly referencing the conversation he’d had with Barra. “Why wait, start them now!”Trump has expressed ire over GM’s plans to shift from traditional car manufacturing to electric and autonomous vehicles. He tweeted Monday that GM should “close a plant in China or Mexico” instead of the facility in Ohio, historically a major center of American manufacturing that has seen a decline in the last decade over factory closures. Trump campaigned on manufacturing in 2016 and promised to make Ohio a “manufacturing behemoth” at a Columbus rally. Trump has previously tried to pressure other companies, like Foxconn and Carrier, over manufacturing jobs.
On Sunday, Trump singled out a lone union official, David Green, for supposedly prolonging the plant’s shutdown."Democrat UAW Local 1112 President David Green ought to get his act together and produce,” Trump tweeted. “G.M. let our Country down, but other much better car companies are coming into the U.S. in droves. I want action on Lordstown fast. Stop complaining and get the job done! 3.8% Unemployment!"Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat from Ohio, came to Green’s defense and said Trump should join in the fight against GM “instead of attacking workers.”
Cover: UAW 1112 President Dave Green talks about the True Blue campaign, Monday, March 4, 2019, in Warren, Ohio. The campaign is for members and people in the community to wear blue and take a photo next to their GM car. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)