Whitmer told Trump in private that Michigan car jobs depend on a price change price

Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer met in private in the oval office with President Donald Trump to assert a case he did not want to hear: the automotive industry he said he wanted to save was injured by his prices.

The democrat came with a shift to assert his points in a visual presentation. The simple fact of obtaining the meeting on Tuesday with the Republican President was a realization for someone considered as a candidate for the appointment of the White House of his party in 2028.

Whitmer’s strategy to deal with Trump highlights the enigma for her and other Democratic leaders as they try to protect the interests of their states while expressing their opposition to her program. It is a dynamic that Whitmer has sailed many other Democratic governors very differently.

The fact that Whitmer has “an opening to make direct calls” in private to Trump was unique at this political moment, said Matt Grossman, professor of politics at the Michigan State University.

It was his third meeting with Trump in the White House since he took office in January. The latter, however, was much less public than the April time, when Whitmer was involuntarily part of an impromptu press conference which embarrassed him so much that she covered his face with a file.

On Tuesday, she told the President that the economic damage of the prices could be serious in Michigan, a state that helped deliver the White House in 2024. Whitmer also provided federal support to the reinstatement efforts after an ice storm and sought to delay the changes in Medicaid.

Trump did not offer any specific commitment, according to people familiar with private conversation who were not allowed to discuss it publicly and only spoke under the cover of anonymity to describe it.

Whitmer is hardly the only one that seems to be the warning of potentially damaging consequences, including factory job losses, lower profits and upcoming price increases, import taxes which, according to Trump, will be economic salvation for American manufacturing.

The White House spokesman Kush Desai said that no other president “is no longer interested in the restoration of the domination of the American automotive industry than President Trump”. Commercial executives negotiated by the administration would open the Japanese, Korean and European markets for vehicles manufactured on the mounting chains of Michigan, said Desai.

But the awareness that Trump preferred tends to be splashing by technology CEOs. On Wednesday, in the Oval Office, Apple CEO, Tim Cook, gave the president a personalized glass plate with a gold base while Cook promised $ 600 billion in investments.

Trump claims to have brought in USD $ 17 billions of investment commitments, although none of these figures has yet appeared in economic data.

As part of its series of decrees and commercial executives, American car manufacturers face 50% import taxes on steel and aluminum, 30% on parts of China and a rate of 25% on the goods of Canada and Mexico not covered by a commercial agreement in 2020.

This puts car manufacturers and American parts suppliers in disadvantage against German, Japanese and South Korean vehicles that do not face an import tax of 15% negotiated by Trump last month.

In addition to that, Trump last week threatened a price of 100% on computer flea, which are an integral part of cars and trucks, although it would exclude companies that produce chips at the national level from the tax.

The two previous meetings of Whitmer with Trump led to gains for Michigan. But the prices represent a much broader demand from a president who imposed them even more aggressively in the face of criticism.

The documents of the presentation brought by Whitmer to Reunion and obtained by the Associated Press noted how trade with Canada and Mexico led $ 23.2 billion in investment in Michigan since 2020.

General Motors, Ford and Stellantis operate 50 factories across the State, while more than 4,000 facilities support the supply chain. In total, the sector supports nearly 600,000 manufacturing jobs, forming the backbone of the Michigan economy.

Whitmer described the main points of the materials to Trump and left copies with his team.

For Grossman, the Michigan State professor, a key question is whether voters who should be helped by prices would react if Trump’s import taxes did not have the promised economic growth.

“Everyone is aware that Michigan is a critical swing state and that the automotive industry has disproportionate, not only directly, but symbolically,” said Grossman.

Ap Votcast found that Trump had won Michigan in 2024 largely because two thirds of his voters described economic conditions as poor or “not so good”. About 70% of state voters who felt negatively in the economy supported the Republican.

The state was essentially divided on the question of whether the prices were positive, Trump obtaining 76% of these voters who considered them favorably.

The heads of General Motors, Ford and Stellantis have repeatedly warned the administration that the prices would reduce the benefits of the company and undermine their global competitiveness. Their efforts have led to a little more than a temporary break and a month intended to give companies time to adapt. The reprieve did not do much to blunder the financial benefits.

In the second quarter, Ford said USD $ 800 million in pricing costs, while GM said import taxes cost him $ 1.1 billion. These expenses could make it more difficult to reinvest in new national factories, a goal has defended that Trump.

“We expect the prices to be a wind from around $ 2 billion this year, and we will continue to monitor developments closely and get involved with decision -makers to ensure that American workers and customers are not disadvantaged by the change of policy,” said Ford CEO Jim Farley

Since Trump returned to the White House, Michigan has lost 7,500 manufacturing jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The smallest suppliers also felt pressure

Detroit Axle, a distributor of automotive parts managed by the family, was one of the most vocal companies in Michigan on the impact of prices. The company initially announced that it may have to close a warehouse and dismiss more than 100 workers, but later said that it would be able to keep the installation open, at least for the moment.

“Right now, this is a market that is capable of surviving, it is not a question of knowing who can prosper,” said Mike Musheinesh, owner of Detroit Axle.