MILFORD, Mich. - Traveling to a campaign event at General Motors this week, President Donald Trump stated that car manufacturers are performing better than ever before because of his tariffs.

All because of Trump, he said.

The president repeated this point while viewing new vehicles on display and forecast that tariffs would bring great benefits to General Motors before signing a white Corvette marking Americas 250th anniversary. He then told an enthusiastic crowd that Michigan is thriving.

That claim does not fully align with several key indicators. Tariffs have imposed billions in added costs on Michigan businesses and others nationwide while fueling ongoing inflation that remains elevated despite assurances from Trump that his experience would resolve it.

Many Americans see tariffs as a driver of higher prices and the conflict in Iran has also lifted gasoline costs, which has dampened consumer sentiment and kept Trumps approval ratings subdued.

Few states illustrate the gap between the presidents optimistic claims and the real effects of his tariffs more clearly than battleground Michigan ahead of the November midterms, with its primary set for Tuesday. Trump carried the state in 2016 and again in 2024 after it went to Democrat Joe Biden in 2020.

At the Milford rally northwest of Detroit the audience was supportive. Yet even some strong backers noted that prices remain too high and that tariffs have created short term economic strain while still voicing overall support for the president.

Lisa Scherer, a 64 year old former landscaping business owner and bus driver union steward, noted that elevated gas prices are hurting a lot and that affording necessities is very rough.

But I am just hoping if we hang in there, she said, while stressing that she still believes the president is performing well.

Although the Supreme Court invalidated many tariffs Trump imposed upon returning to office, the administration has introduced fresh import duties and recently cited the Tariff Act of 1930 to charge Canada with unfair practices while planning 50 percent tariffs on numerous Canadian goods.

Michigan depends on supply chains deeply linked with Canada following years of efforts to lower bilateral trade barriers, including the United States Mexico Canada Agreement from Trumps first term. Trump declined to extend that pact, leading to extended negotiations.

GM stated it was honored to showcase its vehicles and facilities for Trump. Yet automakers have consistently warned that tariffs raise production expenses, prompting the president to grant them relief from auto part tariffs by extending what was meant as a brief rebate through October until 2030.

Longtime Michigan pollster Bernie Porn observed that Trumps upbeat remarks cannot mask how tariffs are heightening voter worries over inflation and affordability.

When I was listening to him, I said, What planet are you on, Porn said.

Porn added that some Republicans nationally fear low turnout in November and I doubt if Michigan is going to be very different.

He is like an anchor around Republicans, Porn said.

Trumps policies do not trouble Joe Miskovich, the 57 year old owner of an aerospace firm from Fenton, Michigan, about 20 miles north of Milford. He said of tariffs that the American public needs to look at the bigger picture.

People need to see, Miskovich said, that yes, granted, there might be a little higher increase in price. But the long term effect is going to be absolutely positive to the nation.

As he has done in key midterm primary contests nationwide, the president has used endorsements to back candidates he views as most loyal or useful to his agenda. In Michigans Republican gubernatorial primary on Tuesday, Trump has backed Congressman John James over rival Perry Johnson.

Also speaking was former Rep. Mike Rogers, who is again running for Senate after narrowly losing to Democratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin two years ago.

More national focus has centered on the states Democratic Senate primary, which will determine if Rogers faces Rep. Haley Stevens or progressive favorite Abdul El Sayed. But Rogers said Michigan needs a senator who advances Trumps agenda rather than someone who works to block it.

This is the time that we will stand up and get Michigan up off of her knees, he said at Trumps rally.

Scherer, who once operated the landscaping company, drove nearly five hours from her home in the Columbus, Ohio suburbs to attend Trumps speech. She remains concerned that the president has overlooked supporters like herself who helped return him to the White House.

I am brutally honest, like Trump is, arent I? He has forgot about the people on a fixed income, said Scherer, who lives on Social Security benefits of $1,100 per month. But I look at it like, I guess, No pain, no gain.

Republican Michigan House Speaker Matt Hall praised tariffs at Trumps rally while also noting that the president last year announced a new fighter jet mission that secured the future of the states Selfridge Air National Guard Base.

This is what putting Michigan first looks like, he said.

Some auto companies have pledged to increase U.S. production, yet those gains are not yet evident. GM announced in June 2025 that it planned to invest $4 billion to move some vehicle production from Mexico to the U.S. starting next year.

Ford and Stellantis, which owns Chrysler, have a similar timeline for expanding domestic operations.

Toyota also said it would invest $3.6 billion and relocate production of its Tacoma pickup from Mexico to Texas, but that will happen over roughly four years.

In the meantime, Michigan has seen only modest gains in auto sector job creation during Trumps second term, while jobs tied to auto parts manufacturing declined by about 4,000 statewide through June when compared to the same month last year.

Michigan has lost 8,300 manufacturing jobs since Trump announced his Liberation Day tariffs in April of last year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Outwardly, the rally was a lovefest. When the president told of encountering a beautiful waitress in Las Vegas during the 2024 campaign, a man in the audience bellowed, Youre beautiful!

Later, the crowd began chanting 10 more years! when Trump discussed needing to leave office after January 2029.

Trump is, like, No. 1. You know, hes the best, said Rose Stroud, 75, who attended the rally from Commerce, Michigan. He thinks about the people, about what they need.

Some attendees insisted that the president should get the benefit of the doubt even as concerns about kitchen table issues rise.

Theres always a method to the madness, and people sometimes dont understand or get it, said Roy Parks, 49, a self employed handyman, photographer and videographer from Milford. But theres always a reason hes doing things a certain way, and it may not make sense at first, but after six, twelve months, it all comes together.

He said the same goes for tariffs: You may not like it at first, but its a short term pinch, short term pain, but long term good. It works out in the end. Its for the best.

When you rip off the Band Aid right away, it stings, Parks added. But, after a few minutes, theres no pain. You have to go through a little bit of pain at first to get to long term good.