Donald Trump Accused of Filling Auto Rally With Non-Union Crowd

Former President Donald Trump has been accused of filling a car worker rally in Michigan with non-union staff.

The Republican skipped a second primary debate and was in the battleground state on Wednesday, a day after President Joe Biden became the first sitting president in U.S. history to walk a picket line when he joined United Auto Workers (UAW) in Detroit.

Trump gave a speech at Drake Enterprises, a non-unionized auto parts supplier in Clinton Township, where he sought to appeal to auto workers as he railed against Biden's push for electric cars and downplayed the UAW strike.

"You're all on the picket lines and everything, but it doesn't make a damn bit of difference what you get, because in two years you're all going to be out of business," he said.

However, the make-up of the audience at the event came under scrutiny after it was reported that at least some of the people in the crowd were not union members or even auto workers, despite the speech being directed at them.

The Detroit News reported that there were about 400 to 500 Trump supporters in the audience at the event, which was filled with pro-Trump signs and MAGA hats. Drake Enterprises says it employs over 125 people at the facility. The UAW does not represent its workforce.

One person in the crowd who held a "union members for Trump" sign acknowledged, when approached by a reporter, that she wasn't a union member, while another person who had a sign that read "auto workers for Trump" said he was not an auto worker when asked for an interview. Neither person provided their names, the newspaper said.

The report prompted the Republicans Against Trump account to post on X, formerly Twitter, that it "looks like the Trump campaign had paid ringers in Michigan today pretending to be union auto workers. Everything around Trump is fraudulent."

MSNBC's Rachel Maddow said that "unlike President Biden, who yesterday actually walked a picket line with actual striking UAW workers, tonight Mr. Trump appeared at an invitation-only event, at a non-union auto parts supplier where he was invited to speak by the management."

Journalist Aaron Rupar wrote: "Trump is pretending he's speaking to UAW workers even though he's at a non-union shop."

Asked about the claims, Steven Cheung, a spokesperson for Trump, told Newsweek that it was "fake news."

"As the New York Times and many other outlets reported, there were UAW members, and other union members from across many industries, in attendance," he said.

A spokesperson for the UAW told Newsweek that the union "had nothing to do with the event formally or informally."

They said they did not how many UAW members, including currently striking members, attended, but added: "I imagine it was a small percentage of the audience."

The Associated Press reported that while Trump aides said the audience would include several hundred current and former UAW members, as well as members of plumbers and pipefitters unions, it also included many non-union workers who support Trump.

Tony Duronio, 64, a longtime Trump supporter and real estate broker who lives in Clinton Township, told the AP that he received an invitation to the event from a group called Autoworkers for Trump.

During his speech, Trump repeatedly urged the UAW to endorse him, including at one point directly appealing to UAW President Shawn Fain.

Although the UAW has so far withheld an endorsement of Biden, Fain appeared at the president's side during his visit on Tuesday, but refused to meet with Trump.

"I see no point in meeting with him because I don't think the man has any bit of care about what our workers stand for, what the working class stands for," Fain said on CNN on Tuesday. "He serves the billionaire class and that's what's wrong with our country."

Fain also called it a "pathetic irony" that Trump chose a non-union facility to host a rally for union members.

Drake Enterprises has been contacted for further comment via email.

Update 10/9/23, 8:40 a.m. ET: This article has been updated to add comment from a spokesperson for the UAW.