The Media Misses the Point on Trump’s “Bloodbath” Remark

What’s happening: Former President Donald Trump said in Ohio last weekend that if President Joe Biden wins re-election this November, it will be a “bloodbath” for the American auto industry.

The reaction: The media and the Biden campaign claimed Trump was threatening political violence and would halt future elections, ignoring the context that he was referring to the American auto industry.

The quote: Trump said, ”China now is building a couple of massive plants where they’re going to build the cars in Mexico and think, they think, that they’re going to sell those cars into the United States with no tax at the border.”

• More: He continued: “We’re going to put a 100% tariff on every single car that comes across the line, and you’re not going to be able to sell those cars. If I get elected. Now, if I don’t get elected, it’s going to be a bloodbath… It’s going to be a bloodbath for the country… But they’re not going to sell those cars.”

• Beyond the headlines: Democrats in Rust Belt states agree with Trump’s comments. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) openly supports auto tariffs on Chinese cars, and Debbie Dingell (D-MI) has assured that “automobiles made by China aren’t going to get any benefit from trade agreements that we’ve got.”

Context: Biden has gone all-in on electric cars, the proliferation of which threatens jobs in the domestic non-electric auto industry. China’s plan to produce and import mass Electric Vehicles — without tariffs — will likely cause a “bloodbath” in the American auto sector.

Why it matters: The media, rushing to vilify Trump’s comments, overlooked the bipartisan consensus on the significant threat Chinese auto imports pose to American jobs and communities.