Does Trump's Call to Move Auto Industry Change Support? Patch Poll

Republican frontrunner Donald Trump thinks Detroit’s Big Three automakers should move some manufacturing jobs to lower-wage states, but opposes Ford Motor Co.’s expansion to Mexico. (Photo by Gage Skidmore via Flickr)

Donald Trump said this week Detroit’s Big Three automakers should pull up stakes in the Motor City and relocate in lower-wage states, a proposal that prompted the United Auto Workers president to brand the billionaire GOP presidential frontrunner “an enemy” of America’s middle class.

“I think Donald Trump’s comments demonstrate what’s wrong with this country. I think he is a prime example of why we need a huge change in this country,” UAW president Dennis Williams told The Detroit News.

“His comments about how he’s going to make America great one day and then talking about diminishing people’s wages, to find less pay for them, is contradictory and he is an enemy – in my mind – of the middle class,” Williams continued. “He ought to do what he does best: build hotels.”

Trump said in an interview with the newspaper last week that one way to head off plans, such as Ford Motor Co.’s announcement it will invest $2.5 billion in Mexico, is to move some production plants out of Michigan.

“I don’t like what’s happening,” Trump said. “We’re losing our jobs. We’re losing our wealth. We’re losing our country ... Why can’t we do it in this country? It’s an incredible thing that we’re not allowed to make our product.”

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If manufacturers move jobs out of the country, “pretty soon, all we’re going to have is nursing home jobs,” Trump said.

Trump is trying to broaden his appeal to blue-collar workers with a proposal he says keeps manufacturing jobs in the U.S., but Williams says that’s doublespeak.

He told The Detroit News Trump is saying “don’t build in Mexico but go somewhere else where you can find lower wages and take advantage of people. What’s the difference?”

“Philosophically, if we’re going to have a middle class in this country, people have to have disposable incomes; they have to have purchasing power; they have to have a right to buy a house, a car; they’ve got to send their kids to school,” Williams said. “There’s a whole lot of things that we ought to be doing as a country, and Donald Trump is not about that.”

A CNN/ORC poll last week showed Trump has achieved big gains since July and is now competitive in the general election. Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton leads him by just 6 points. A month ago, Trump trailed Clinton by 16 points.

If the general election were held today, Clinton would win against any of the Republican candidates, according to the CNN/ORC poll. She would also bet Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker by 6 points, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush by 9 points and businesswoman Carly Fiorina by 10 points.

How would you vote if the election were held today? Do Trump’s comments about the auto industry make you more or less likely to support him? Take our poll, and discuss your preferences in the comments.