Fact check: Donald Trump tells Michigan ‘our golden age has just begun’
- President Donald Trump returned to Michigan Tuesday, announcing a new mission for Selfridge and touting his record for the first 100 days
- Trump defended his tariff strategy while promising ‘a little bit of a break’ for automakers adjusting to changes
- The president said the ‘Golden Dome’ missile defense shield would be ‘built in Michigan’
WARREN — In the county that helped win him Michigan, President Donald Trump on Tuesday touted the sweeping actions he’s taken since taking office, promising to usher in a “golden age of America” even as economic uncertainty looms.
In a roughly 90-minute speech at Macomb Community College in Macomb County, he listed actions he’s taken on the economy, tariffs, immigration and more, calling his second term record “the most successful first 100 days of any administration in the history of our country.”
He also promised “a little bit of a break” for automakers reeling from steep 25% tariffs on foreign imports and key parts, but reiterated that the ultimate goal is for those components to be made stateside.
The stakes are especially high in Michigan, where auto industry supply chains blur borders. Roughly $77 billion in goods cross the Canadian border each year, and the state trades another $69 billion with Mexico.
More than 280,000 Michiganders work in auto industry jobs, and the state has more than 2,200 automotive supplier and technology center facilities, according to data from MichAuto at the Detroit Regional Chamber.
Trump said his latest executive order relaxing some of the auto tariffs is meant to give automakers “a little bit of time before we slaughter them” if they don’t comply.
“I'm giving them a little bit of a break, right?”
Trump said. “They took in parts from all over the world. I don't want that. I want them to make their parts here, but I gave them a little bit of time.”
A hundred days in, Trump has taken at least some action on many of his promises — but he’s also facing legal scrutiny for his unprecedented use of executive power, and the impact on Michigan so far is mixed or unclear.
The scope and scale of his administration’s changes are hurting Michigan residents in many ways, Michigan Democratic Party Chair Curtis Hertel said prior to Trump’s speech. Outside of the rally, hundreds of anti-Trump protesters demonstrated their displeasure.
“It would be nice if he would acknowledge the actual pain that's being experienced by families and try to do better,” Hertel said.
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More promises for Michigan
Earlier in the day, Trump stopped at Selfridge National Air Guard Base to announce the facility would receive 21 F-15EX Eagle II fighters to replace a fleet of retiring jets.
“I’ve come in person to lay to rest any doubts about Selfridge,” Trump said at the Harrison Township base.
During his Tuesday evening speech, Trump suggested more federal contracts could be in the works for Michigan, including the proposed multibillion dollar “Golden Dome” missile defense shield.
“It's going to be made in Michigan,” Trump said. “It’s going to be made right here in the USA.”
Looking ahead, Trump told rally attendees he’d work with Congress to “pass the largest tax cuts in American history” and cut more than $1 trillion in federal spending by the next fiscal year.
Trump made at least 100 specific promises to Michigan on the campaign trail, and Bridge Michigan continues to track the progress.
Here’s a look at other assertions the president made during his Macomb County speech, and the facts.
Auto industry
The statement: Trump said “a lot of auto jobs are coming” to Michigan, saying companies are “coming from all over the world” to build cars in the state as a result of the new tariffs.
The facts: The new tariffs have prompted action from Michigan-based automakers, including Stellantis’ announcement that it would temporarily lay off 900 workers in Michigan and Indiana and pause production in one plant apiece in Canada and Mexico.
GM reportedly plans to boost production of trucks in Fort Wayne, Ind. in response to Trump’s tariff strategy. Nissan, a Japanese automaker, is reversing plans to scale back SUV production in Tennessee.
Ford launched a marketing campaign in response to the tariffs, highlighting the company’s commitment to building cars in the US and extending employee discount rates to all new car buyers.
The United Auto Workers, which typically backs Democrats, is supporting Trump’s auto tariffs, saying that automakers have the money and capacity to handle the changes.
Electric vehicles
The statement: Trump claimed victory on reversing what he referred to as former President Joe Biden’s “insane electric vehicle mandate.”
The facts: On his first day in office, Trump rescinded a Biden order that had established a national goal for 50% of all cars in the US to be zero-emissions by 2030, and he directed the Environmental Protection Agency to roll back the mileage targets for US car fleets that he said were a mandate for EVs.
Those rules did not amount to a mandate for electric vehicle production or purchases, though Trump and his allies claim they did. Revoking the rules could be a lengthy process, but Trump’s order made clear his administration intends to do so.
The new order also commits the federal government to considering "the elimination of unfair subsidies and other ill-conceived government-imposed market distortions that favor EVs over other technologies."
That could mean the eventual end of a $7,500 tax credit for consumer EV purchases, which Trump promised to eliminate on the campaign trail.
EV sales declined slightly in February but were up 10% from the prior year. It will take months or longer to see how Detroit automakers fare in coming years as they navigate existing and potential tariffs.
Immigration
The statement: Trump said he’s been making a bigger dent in stopping illegal immigration than his predecessor.
“We are delivering mass deportation, and it's happening very fast,” Trump said.
The facts: The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency has arrested nearly as many people during the first three months of the Trump administration as were arrested in the entire 2024 fiscal year. The agency is detaining more of them in jail and is releasing fewer, ICE statistics show.
Overall deportations are nowhere near the level the administration has predicted — the Washington Post reported a 2025 goal of 1 million. March deportations were actually below how many were deported in March 2024.
The US military is now assisting with border security. The number of people attempting to cross the border is at the lowest level in decades.
In Michigan, the US Customs and Border Protection is reporting the biggest increase in undocumented immigrant arrests “in recent memory” but has not specified exact numbers.
In Detroit, federal prosecutors had charged 46 people with immigration-related criminal charges in January, February and part of March, according to The Detroit News; in all of 2024 they had arrested 70.
Detroit resident Dave Boyko, who attended the rally Tuesday, told Bridge Michigan he’s pleased with the president’s immigration action thus far.
“My dad came here from Germany as a little kid, and they had to stay the night at Ellis Island for three to four months before they were even allowed to fill out a piece of paper,” he said. “And (the Biden administration) just let these people across the border… all willy-nilly.”
Election results
The statement: Trump opened the speech with gratitude for what he dubbed “the biggest victory in Michigan” before repeating claims about the 2020 cycle: “We won it twice…We actually won three times.”
He also alleged Democrats attempted to rig the November election, claiming, “they cheat like hell.”
The facts: In 2016, Trump narrowly won the state of Michigan by 10,704 votes over Hillary Clinton. But he lost to President Joe Biden by 154,188 votes as Democrats re-established their “blue wall,” a relatively wider margin that was still within three percentage points.
Trump recaptured Michigan and other key swing states in the 2024 election. In Michigan, he defeated Democratic nominee Kamala Harris by just over 80,000 votes. Macomb County was ground zero of his Michigan win, where voters gave him a 68,000-vote margin.
There is no evidence that the Democratic Party attempted to sway 2024 election results, and numerous court rulings, audits and reports found no evidence of 2020 voter fraud.
Inflation, cost of living
The statement: Trump said inflation is lower and cost of basic necessities has decreased since he first took office, claiming the cost of eggs is “down 87%” and that gas prices are “down by a lot.” He also said mortgage rates, energy prices and the cost of prescription drugs are also declining.
“Prices are coming way down,” Trump told the crowd. “They said, ‘He pledged to bring prices down.’ Well, that’s what I’ve done.”
The facts: Egg prices hit record highs this spring, though wholesale prices have been on the decline. US Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins on Sunday expressed optimism that retail egg prices would follow.
Prescription drug costs were down 2% in March, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index, while gas costs decreased 6.3%. Electricity and natural gas prices slightly increased over the same time period, and overall food costs were up largely due to volatile egg prices.
Gas prices have dipped below $3 per gallon in many parts of Michigan.
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