Last year, Donald Trump tried to take credit for General Motors’ jobs he didn’t create. He did this on the shoulders of news that General Motors was announcing downturns in their plans to expand business. Since that time, instead of doing anything to actually foster a healthier economy, Trump and his Republican henchmen have cut revenues in order to give out tax welfare to corporations, and pushed for poorly thought-out trade tariffs. Local news outlets are reporting that employees of the General Motors plant in Lordstown, Ohio, have been told that the company plans on closing the plant next year.
The Lordstown plant employed around 4,500 people when Trump came into office, and has dwindled since. GM announced plans to cut “second shifts” at the plant back in the spring, leading many conservative folks to wonder out loud whether this was what Trump meant when he said he would “Make America Great Again.” The irony, if you can call it that, is that many of the people being laid off and losing their livelihoods supported Trump and the very same Republicans, elected officials who have done next to nothing to secure these industries or promote better jobs in their areas. People like Tommy Wolikow, interviewed by the Guardian, who was let go of his job at the Lordstown plant on Trump’s Inauguration Day in 2017, but believed Trump when he told them at a rally to “not sell your house.”