Former President Donald Trump announced a plan to make interest on car loans fully tax deductible during a speech to the Detroit Economic Club on Thursday.
Trump said the move would “stimulate massive domestic auto production and make car ownership dramatically more affordable for millions and millions of working American families.” The idea is similar to others Trump has proposed, such as eliminating the tax on tips, overtime work, and Social Security benefits, in a bid to keep more money in Americans’ wallets.
The former president also said Thursday he would seek to renegotiate the 2020 U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement and reiterated his call to impose tariffs on foreign cars. Trump said, “I want German car companies to become American car companies. I want them to build plants in America. Otherwise, I’d rather not have their cars here.”
Trump’s speech comes as polls show him neck-and-neck with Vice President Kamala Harris in Michigan, a key battleground state.
The former president also drew criticism Thursday for calling Detroit a “once-great city” that’s more “developing” than “most places in China.” He also warned that if Harris wins in November, “our whole country will end up being like Detroit if she’s your president. You’re going to have a mess on your hands.”
Several local politicians, including Democrat Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, hit back, with Duggan posting on X, “Detroit just hosted the largest NFL Draft in history, the Tigers are back in the playoffs, the Lions are headed to the Super Bowl, crime is down and our population is growing. Lots of cities should be like Detroit. And we did it all without Trump’s help.”