Trump warns of tax hikes, EV doom in Michigan rally. Here are the facts

• Donald Trump rallied with thousands of Michigan supporters — and railed on President Joe Biden — in Saginaw County
• The former president claimed his rival would raise taxes, but Biden has pledged not to do so for anyone earning less than $400,000.
• Trump also bemoaned an ongoing shift to electric vehicles, inflating claims it will soon lead to decimation of Michigan’s signature industry

FREELAND — Donald Trump blasted President Joe Biden on taxes, electric vehicles, immigration and more on Wednesday during his latest campaign rally in Michigan’s swing region of Saginaw County.

“It’s a disaster if Joe Biden wins this election — the middle class loses,” the former president and presumed Republican nominee told a crowd of thousands outside an airport hangar. “But if Trump wins, the middle class wins.”

Trump led off his Michigan speech with concerns about the future of tax cuts he signed in the White House, many of which are set to expire in 2025. 

Biden won’t extend the law, he said, suggesting that would result in a tax hike of almost $2,000 for individuals earning $75,000 a year, and roughly $3,000 for a family of four earning $165,000. 

He promised to “deliver a Trump middle-class tax cut” instead.

Biden has noted that portions of the Trump tax cut law are set to expire. “And if I’m reelected, it’s going to stay expired,” he said last month, criticizing GOP tax policy that “overwhelmingly benefited … the wealthy.”

But Trump’s warning of a looming middle-class tax hike under Biden contradicts recent comments by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who this week told a U.S. House committee the president remains committed to his previous campaign pledge to not raise taxes on Americans who earn less than $400,000 a year. 

“He has not proposed such a thing since he took office, and he’s not proposing to allow that to happen” when parts of the act expire, she said during the hearing.

Elsewhere in his third Michigan speech of 2024, Trump covered his concerns about the Biden administration’s electric vehicle strategy — a favorite topic in the union-heavy state — as well as his stance on immigration and culturally divisive issues like abortion and what’s being taught in schools. 

Critics argue that Trump’s comments don’t reflect how his policies have played out in Michigan. 

“These visits don’t mask the fact that he has failed Michiganders for years and doesn’t actually care about helping them in the future,” Michigan Democratic Party Chair Lavora Barnes said in a statement. 

An electric vehicle ‘bloodbath’

Trump on Wednesday reiterated claims that an ongoing shift toward electric vehicles will destroy Michigan jobs, promising to walk back the “insane electric vehicle mandate” and “bring the car industry back to Michigan.” 

Trump said he’s not inherently opposed to electric vehicles — “whatever the hell you want, you should be able to get” — but claimed Biden administration emissions rules and a goal to have electric vehicles comprise half of new vehicle sales by 2030 will “rip out your auto jobs and send them immediately to China.”