Trump claims all the U.S. automakers are ‘doing great.’ Gretchen Whitmer says ‘this will only get worse without a serious shift’

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer offered a contrasting view of manufacturing in Detroit Thursday, two days after President Donald Trump defended his tariff strategy in the Motor City.

Whitmer, a term-limited Democrat who is in her last year as governor, said in a speech at the Detroit Auto Show that the administration’s tariff strategy has hurt American auto manufacturing and is benefiting Chinese competitors. It’s a message she has repeated over the past year as economic uncertainty has rippled across the automobile sector.

“This will only get worse without a serious shift in national policy,” Whitmer said.

Her remarks followed Trump’s speech defending his economic policy Tuesday in Detroit, a major hub of automobile manufacturing. He also toured the factory floor of a Ford plant in Dearborn.

“All U.S. automakers are doing great,” Trump said.

Whitmer offered a differing picture of the impact, saying that American manufacturing has contracted for months leading to job loss and production cuts. She has remained firmly opposed to Trump’s tariff strategy since last year, especially as her state partners closely with Canadian business. Automobile parts often cross the U.S.-Canadian border several times in the assembly process.

“America stands more alone than she has in decades,” Whitmer said. “And perhaps no industry h...