Trump takes potshots at Ford in Flint
Wed, Aug 12 2015"Ford is building a $2.5 billion plant in Mexico," Trump told a standing-room-only crowd in Birch Run, MI, yesterday evening. "I'll actually give them a good idea. Why don't we just let the illegals drive the cars and trucks right into our country?"
This is not the first time real estate mogul turned reality TV star has whined about Ford's Mexican factory plans. Previously, he promised that if he were elected, he'd levy a 35-percent tax against Mexican-built Fords. Then, as he has here, Trump failed to address other automakers selling Mexican-built vehicles in the US, including Detroit-based General Motors as well as foreign brands like Volkswagen, Nissan, and Toyota.
"I would say, the deal is not going to be approved, I won't allow it. I want that plant in the United States, preferably here," Trump said, with Bloomberg reporting his comments were meant with chants of "USA."
Ford announced the $2.5-billion Mexican investment in April, saying it'd build two factories to produce transmissions and engines. In response to Trump's criticism of the deal, the Dearborn-based automaker was quick to point out that it hasn't exactly been stingy about building its business here in the US.
"We are committed to leveraging our global manufacturing footprint and will continue to invest where it makes the best sense for our business," Ford spokesman Karl Henkel told Bloomberg. "We are proud that we have invested $6.2 billion in our US plants since 2011 and hired nearly 25,000 US employees."
Related Video:
By Brandon Turkus
See also: Ford flips switch on GT350, GT350R configurators, Ford adding second supplier for F-150 frames, Recharge Wrap-up: Custom Nissan Leaf video, Shell's Arctic oil plans.