by Lauren Gibbons and Paula Gardner, Bridge Michigan
January 12, 2026

• Republican President Donald Trump will return to Michigan on Tuesday for an economic speech in Detroit
• After making bold promises to Michigan, Trump’s made some policy progress but economy remains sluggish  
• The president’s visit comes as the Detroit Auto Show prepares to welcome hundreds of thousands of visitors

President Donald Trump is due back in Michigan on Tuesday to deliver an economic speech in Detroit, returning to a state for which he promised an economic miracle by the end of his four-year term. 

Roughly one year in, much work remains for the Republican president to fulfill that promise. 

Michigan has added jobs but continues to have one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation. Inflation has slowed, but many costs remain high. Tariffs have sparked uncertainty, but not decimated the auto industry, as his detractors feared. 

That’s the backdrop as Trump prepares to address members of the Detroit Economic Club, a group of regional business leaders he last spoke to in 2024 during his winning presidential campaign. 

He’s also expected to tour the Ford Rouge Center factory in Dearborn, but is not currently scheduled to tour the Detroit Auto Show, which is hosting other officials this week ahead of Saturday’s public opening.

Trump has frequently used Michigan as a backdrop for bold promises to address economic and cultural issues. During a Novi campaign rally in 2024, he promised that by the end of his term, “the entire world will be talking about the Michigan miracle and the stunning rebirth of Detroit.”

He’s also knocked the city: In his last address to the Detroit Economic Club in 2024, Trump warned the “whole country will end up being like Detroit” if Democrats won that year’s elections. He called Detroit a “once-great city” while promising a litany of tax cuts, deductions and credits that he argued would “save” the domestic auto industry.

Trump has made progress on some of those policy goals, but critics point to sluggish job growth, continued increases in the cost of living and economic uncertainty as signs that Trump’s actions are hurting average citizens.

He’s returning to Michigan during a tense time, nationally, following his military ouster of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and a fatal shooting by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Minnesota. Protests are expected in Detroit. 

As Trump prepares to discuss the economy, here are the facts. 

How tariffs have fared 

Since taking office, Trump has levied tariffs on imported cars and vehicle parts, along with steel and aluminum. He’s also levied new import taxes on products from countries around the world. 

Michigan’s close trading ties to Canada and the prominence of auto manufacturing in the state prompted fears that steep tariffs could negatively impact the state’s economy, though results have been mixed. 

A December 2025 tariff analysis from economists at Harvard and Chicago University determined prices have increased and US businesses have borne the brunt of added costs. But tariff exemptions, shipping lags and enforcement gaps have moderated the overall impact on the economy. 

University of Michigan economists initially predicted Michigan could lose out on 13,000 jobs to the higher tariffs. In late 2025, an updated report found the tariffs’ impact would ultimately result in a “small positive” for domestic auto production, but raise consumer vehicle prices overall.  

Through September, Michigan had added about 20,000 jobs in 2025, according to federal data. The state also lost billions of dollars in climate-related investments last year under Trump, which advocates contend could have created even more jobs. 

The intent of Trump’s America First trade policy was to increase manufacturing in the U.S., a move that prompted automakers and their suppliers to rethink where products are made. Yet a wave of tariff announcements — including against Michigan’s trade partner, Canada — unsettled the industry. 

Today, various tariff rollbacks and pauses have calmed many industry fears, even as supply chain costs increased, said Glenn Stevens, executive director of statewide advocacy group MichAuto. 

Renewed commitment to autos?

Trump’s visit just days ahead of the Detroit Auto Show signals his commitment to Michigan’s signature industry, Stevens said.

Stevens said he hopes to hear more from Trump on Tuesday about his hopes for the negotiated North American trade policy under the United States-Mexico-Canada agreement.

“It’s taken a long time to develop this interconnected three country trade bloc, and we want it to be stronger together,” Stevens said. 

Other auto industry policy changes over the past year led to less restrictive fuel economy and emissions standards, along with reducing subsidies for electric vehicles. 

“We know what we’re dealing with now,” Stevens said about many federal directives. 

However, the rapid pace of change cost the industry: Ford Motor Co., for example, is looking at $19.5 billion in write-downs after drastically downsizing its EV production plans. 

If Trump speaks at length about autos, Stevens said he hopes the president offers signs that he’ll slow the velocity of change.

“The most important thing that the industry needs is as much stability and long-range planning capability as it can have,” Stevens said, allowing lasting investment and product decisions.

Inflation slows, but costs still high 

On the campaign trail, Trump promised to roll back inflation “on Day 1” and raise tariffs to drive job growth in Michigan.

Inflation has largely negated the impact of household income gains since the COVID-19 pandemic. Inflation increased 2.7% in November, a lower rate than anticipated but one economists warn could be skewed by lack of data collection during last year’s federal government shutdown.

Cost of living in Michigan and nationally have skyrocketed in recent years, driven by inflation and economic volatility, and the job market is tight. Consumer spirits lifted slightly in December, a University of Michigan survey found, but confidence in personal finances and the economy remains nearly 30% below the same time in 2024. 

In recent weeks, Trump has ordered the government to purchase $200 million in mortgage bonds in an attempt to lower interest rates, and on Friday night announced his support of a one-year, 10% cap on credit card interest rates.

“Please be informed that we will no longer let the American Public be ‘ripped off, by Credit Card Companies,” Trump wrote on his social media website. “AFFORDABILITY!”

But critics say continued affordability concerns are proof the president’s policies aren’t working.

“Michiganders are feeling the effects of Trump’s economy every day,” Democratic Party Chair Curtis Hertel said in a statement, arguing that the president’s actions have made costs of necessities like health care unaffordable for many residents.

The average Michigan family of four is paying more than $1,000 a month for groceries, up 40% since 2017 and higher than the national average, per an analysis from the Urban Institute, a nonprofit research firm. 

Renters have experienced a higher jump in monthly costs than the average national household — data from the real estate company Zillow shows average rents increasing nearly 45% in the Grand Rapids area since 2015 and 35% in metro Detroit.

Michigan’s unemployment rate as of November 2025 was 5%, a 0.2% decrease from November 2024, according to data released by the state Department of Technology, Management and Budget. Per the latest federal data available, Michigan had one of the highest jobless rates in the nation, behind only California, Nevada, New Jersey and Oregon. 

Median household income in Michigan was $72,389 in 2024, well below the national median of $81,604 — a gap that’s more than doubled since 2014 as the state lags behind the nation in income growth. 

Recent promises to Michigan 

In early 2025, Trump vowed to work with Michigan’s Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to expand operations at Macomb County’s Selfridge Air National Guard Base and fight Asian carp in the Great Lakes. 

Weeks later, Trump showed up to Michigan to announce new fighter jets at the base. Last May, Trump issued a memo directing his administration to “achieve maximum speed and efficiency” to prevent further Asian carp migration into the Great Lakes basin. 

Trump remains focused on increasing military spending, announcing last week that he wants to increase the defense budget by $500 billion, bringing it to a record $1.5 trillion in 2027. 

Whitmer has focused economic development initiatives on the defense sector, beyond Trump’s 2024 announcement about Selfridge expansion. The sector is worth about $30 billion, officials said in 2024 as Whitmer announced an Office of Defense and Aerospace Innovation. 

However, Trump also put the brakes on Biden-era infrastructure spending. The move was blamed last year for Michigan losing a controversial $63 billion semiconductor factory near Flint.

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