- President Donald Trump returns to Michigan, claiming ‘strongest and fastest economic turnaround in our country’s history‘
- Trump addressed Detroit-area business leaders, Republican faithful and toured Ford plant
- He’s made progress on some campaign promises, but costs of living remain stubbornly high for many Michigan residents
DETROIT — President Donald Trump returned to Michigan on Tuesday to claim major economic wins, arguing his agenda has created the “strongest and fastest economic turnaround in our country’s history.”
In doing so, Trump downplayed the effects of slowing but ongoing inflation, claiming the prices of groceries and other goods have fallen even though many have continued to increase since he returned to office a year ago.
“Grocery prices are starting to go rapidly down, rent is down, airfares are down, hotel rates are down, cell phone prices are down — and we’re just getting started,” Trump said in a roughly one-hour speech to members of the Detroit Economic Club.
Federal data released hours before Trump’s speech painted a less rosy picture: Grocery prices rose 2.7% nationally in 2025, including by 0.7% in December. “Five of the six major grocery store food group indexes increased in December,” the US Bureau of Labor Statistics found.
Rent growth slowed last year, but is still increasing, according to data compiled by the real estate company Zillow, and the American Hotel and Lodging Association reports average hotel rates increased slightly in 2025.
Airfares have decreased during Trump’s second term. Gas prices are also down, and the president correctly noted later in his speech that motorists can currently fill up for as low as $2.30 at some Detroit-area stations.
Trump has made progress on many policies he promised Michiganders in his winning 2024 campaign, including a tax cut extension and tariffs, but he has had a harder time following through on pledges to “quickly” lower costs and “slash your prices.” And his vow for a “Michigan miracle” by the end of his four-year term remains far off.
On Tuesday, however, he declared total victory: “I’ve kept all my promises and much more,” Trump said at the MotorCity Casino Sound Board theater.
Read on for more fact checks and takeaways from the president’s visit to Michigan.
‘Investment is booming’
Speaking to regional business leaders he last addressed during his 2024 campaign, Trump argued that his aggressive economic policies, including a tariff strategy aimed at boosting domestic manufacturing of vehicles and other products, are already working.
“Investment is booming, incomes are rising, inflation is defeated, America is respected again,” Trump told the crowd, which included Detroit-area business leaders and prominent Republican officials like state House Speaker Matt Hall and US Senate candidate Mike Rogers.
On the economy, Trump said Tuesday that “we have quickly gone from the worst numbers on record to the best and strongest numbers, the most dynamic numbers” ahead of his own “very optimistic schedule.”
It’s not clear exactly what numbers he was referring to, but here are some key national and state economic metrics, including some Trump mentioned at other points of his speech:
- Nationally, real average hourly earnings increased 1.1% in 2025, meaning wage growth did slightly outpace inflation. Michiganders earn about 4% less than the national average, however, even when accounting for our lower cost of living, University of Michigan economist Gabe Ehrlich said in a panel discussion before Trump’s speech.
- Through September, Michigan had added about 20,000 jobs in 2025, according to federal data. The state’s unemployment rate dropped .2 percentage points in November to 5%, but remains one of the highest jobless rates in the nation.
- Consumer spirits lifted slightly in December, a University of Michigan survey found, but confidence in personal finances and the economy remains nearly 30% below the same time in 2024.
- Michigan renters have experienced a higher jump in monthly costs than the average national household — data from the real estate company Zillow shows average rents increasing nearly 45% in the Grand Rapids area since 2015 and 35% in metro Detroit.
A primary cost driver has been the persistent pressure of inflation, which has largely negated the impact of household income gains since the COVID-19 pandemic.
But inflation has shown signs of cooling in recent months, with Bureau of Labor Statistics data released Tuesday showing inflation rates are holding steady at a year-over-year increase of 2.7%.
Who pays tariffs?
Since taking office, Trump has levied tariffs on imported cars and vehicle parts, along with steel and aluminum. He’s also levied new import taxes on products from countries around the world.
Trump told his Detroit audience that the levies are already working for Michigan, crediting his “historic use of tariffs” with the “unbelievable success” of his economic policies.
“Every prediction the critics made about our tariff policy has failed to materialize,” Trump claimed. “The evidence shows overwhelmingly that the tariffs are not paid by American consumers, they’re paid by foreign nations.”
A December 2025 tariff analysis from economists at Harvard and Chicago University determined prices have increased and US businesses have borne the brunt of added costs. But tariff exemptions, shipping lags and enforcement gaps have moderated the overall impact on the economy.
Many economists predict that at least some of the costs will be borne by consumers, even if manufacturers and retailers absorb the bulk of the price increases on imported and domestic goods.
Trump also touted progress on his administration’s goal of reducing the trade deficit, which he said “was killing Michigan” before he took office. A Jan. 8 report from the US Department of Commerce found the deficit decreased by 39% between September and October.
Michigan’s close trading ties to Canada and the prominence of auto manufacturing in the state prompted fears that steep tariffs could negatively impact the state’s economy, though results have been mixed.
University of Michigan economists initially predicted Michigan could lose out on 13,000 jobs to the higher tariffs. In late 2025, an updated report found the tariffs’ impact would ultimately result in a “small positive” for domestic auto production.
But “we still expect the tariffs to add over $3,000 on average, to the price of a car,” Ehrlich, the U-M economist, said Tuesday.
For the auto industry, about 930,000 additional vehicles — cars, SUVs and light trucks — will be bought by consumers shifting from imported autos, U-M economists estimated for this year. That gain will be offset by an overall decline of 530,000 autos sold in 2026, they predicted.
The US Supreme Court is expected to weigh in soon on whether Trump had the authority to unilaterally levy tariffs.
Ford execs praise Trump
Prior to his Detroit speech, Trump toured a Dearborn Ford Motor Company assembly plant with Bill Ford and Ford CEO Jim Farley, where F-150 models are pieced together.
Both executives praised Trump during a short exchange with reporters, with Farley suggesting tariff policies and easing of environmental standards paved the way for the company to expand truck production in Tennessee.
Ford has a “great relationship” with the president and his staff, Bill Ford said, adding, “times are good for us.”
The venue was notable: Former President Joe Biden visited the same factory in May 2021 to promote his economic plans and advocate for American EV leadership. Biden drove the F-150 Lightning, which was just about to launch at the time.
Fast forward to December 2025, and Ford killed the F-150 Lightning, saying it was following consumer demand but also reacting to “changes in the regulatory environment” after the Trump administration rolled back Biden-era support for electric vehicles.
Ford in December said it would take a $19 billion hit to shift its EV capacity to gas-powered vehicles, while adding new energy storage systems to its EV battery lineup.
Speaking to reporters at the plant, Trump said “business is better than ever” for Ford and other Big Three automakers. His administration pointed to domestic sales data showing Ford and GM both made gains in 2025. Stellantis, however, saw US sales decrease.
Notably, Trump suggested he’s not worried about negotiations over trade agreements with neighboring Canada and Mexico, the most recent of which is coming up for a mandatory joint review this summer.
“We could have it or not, it wouldn’t matter,” Trump said, adding that his main priority is to shift production from Canada and Mexico onto US soil. “I don’t really care.”
False election claims
While Trump was in Michigan to speak on the economy, he touched on several different topics and grievances, railing against the Federal Reserve, the sale of the Panama Canal, Republican US Sen. Rand Paul, transgender athletes and daycare fraud in Minnesota.
At the top of his speech, Trump reiterated his unproven claims that widespread fraud cost him Michigan’s 2020 presidential election, suggesting he won Michigan “three times” but “didn’t get credit the second time” before making “the last one too big to rig.”
He also alleged without evidence that Rogers, the US Senate candidate who narrowly lost to Democrat Elissa Slotkin in 2024, had actually “won” the race that year.
In 2016, Trump narrowly won the state of Michigan by 10,704 votes over Hillary Clinton. But he lost to Biden by 154,188 votes in 2020, a win that was affirmed by a months-long investigation by a Republican-led state Senate committee.
Trump recaptured Michigan in 2024, defeating Democrat Kamala Harris by just over 80,000 votes.
Rogers conceded his race that year to Slotkin, wishing her “the best as she serves the people of Michigan” in her new role after election results showed she won the seat with 48.6% of the vote to Rogers’ 48.3%.
Protesters cry foul
Rogers, the Senate candidate, praised Trump’s speech, saying in a statement that the president “continues to clean up Biden’s mess and deliver on his promises to the American people on everything from securing our border, to restoring jobs, and keeping more money in our pockets.”
But outside Trump’s speech, hundreds of protesters gathered at the corner of Trumbull and Temple in Detroit’s Corktown, many bundled up in coats, hats and gloves as a cold rain started to fall. They held up signs like, “ICE out of Detroit,” “Love your neighbors,” and “Fight Trump’s agenda.”
“Deporatation, we say no! Donald Trump has got to go!” people chanted in a protest against Trump’s aggressive crackdown on illegal immigration.
“These people are going around scaring people. There’s well-defined policies in the Constitution about how people should be treated and I think we need to abide by that,” said Char McIntyre, a Birmingham resident who said she was also upset with the Trump administration pulling grants for bike lanes and trails last year to focus on preserving and expanding lanes for cars and trucks.
Other protesters questioned Trump’s commitment to democracy and said they were skeptical he’d pull off the Michigan “miracle” he promised voters here.
“He will not do any of that,” said Debbie Rosenman, 69, of Bloomfield Township.
“He doesn’t care about anybody but himself. There will be a Michigan miracle when we turn over our leadership.”
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under our Republication Guidelines. Questions? Email republishing@bridgemi.com
You must be logged in to post a comment.