WASHINGTON D.C. (WSAU) – Former President Trump has responded to media reactions to comments he made at a rally over the weekend that the U.S. automotive industry will face a “bloodbath” if he’s not elected in November.
The statement in question was from Trump’s campaign speech in Ohio on Saturday, which was posted on X, where he said, “I don’t get elected; it’s going to be a bloodbath for the whole. That’s going to be the least of it. It’s going to be a bloodbath for the country.” Many media outlets, such as the New York Times, took those out-of-context comments as a threat, writing stories titled “Trump Says Some Migrants Are ‘Not People’ and Predicts a ‘Blood Bath’ if He Loses” and NBC News writing their story titled “Trump Says there will be a ‘bloodbath’ if he loses the election”.
According to a post on Truth Social, Trump responded to those stories by saying, “The Fake News Media and their Democratic Partners in the destruction of our nation pretended to be shocked at my use of the word BLOODBATH, even though they fully understood that I was simply referring to imports allowed by Crooked Joe Biden, which are killing the automobile industry.”
“The United Auto Workers, but not their leadership, fully understand what I mean. With the Electric Car Mandate being pushed by Biden, there soon won’t be any cars made in the USA,” Trump continued.
According to President of AutoForecast Solutions Joseph McCabe, who spoke about the struggling EV market with Money.com, EVs had strong sales numbers in 2023, but the cost of EVs is the top reason many Americans say they have no interest in buying one, with most models costing up to $10,000 more than their gasoline-powered counterpart, and 56% of Americans cite the cost of charging and the lack public fast chargers as the reasons they would not purchase an EV, according to AAA.
Trump’s comments come a month after failing to receive an endorsement from the UAW (United Auto Workers Union) and referring to the group as a “hopeless case” during an interview with Fox Business’s Maria Bartiromo when they announced their support for President Biden. UAW President Shawn Fain responded to Trump’s comments by calling him a “scab,” which is a term union members use against those who they feel are not supporters of their cause.
Other notable unions such as the Teamsters are expected to announce their endorsement this summer following meetings with both Trump and Biden over the last week, according to Reuters.
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