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.
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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.”
President Donald Trump is not currently scheduled to tour the Detroit Auto Show. His predecessor, Joe Biden, is seen here touring the show in 2022. (Evan Vucci/Associated Press)
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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“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.
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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.
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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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Bryce Underwood talks Michigan football during spring practice
Bryce Underwood talks Michigan football during spring practice at Schembechler Hall in Ann Arbor on Wednesday, March 25, 2026.
The buzzword continued to come up in Schembechler Hall, from each one of the captains.
From Bryce Underwood to Jordan Marshall, Rod Moore to Trey Pierce − Michigan football players around for the previous regime and in the case of the latter two, the one before that too − each said Wednesday, March 25, that there’s a noticeable difference within the program under new coach Kyle Whittingham.
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For Moore, a sixth-year player who will likely become a third-time captain when the official leaders are voted on later this summer, he recognized the vibe.
SCHEME DREAM: Michigan football tailoring offense to strength behind Bryce Underwood
“I would say it’s kind of a similarity to coach Harbaugh’s regimen,” he said. “It’s a lot more strict than the past two years, and the weight room has kind of been a night-and-day difference than the past two years. We feel a lot stronger, a lot more progress.”
The Wolverines finished winter conditioning and Whittingham graded it with an “A+.” Hope is often the dominant mode at this time of year and adding a new coaching staff to what’s generally a positive time creates little surprise that the Wolverines are raving about the new system.
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But beyond the platitudes and clichés, there are tangible examples. Take Pierce: The projected starting defensive tackle has trimmed his weight to 300 pounds while adding muscle mass to his overall frame.
“Something new that we have now is that whenever we start meetings, there’s like a loud air horn that goes off throughout the whole building,” Moore said. “The past two years, we would start the meeting at 2:30, but now we start the meeting at 2:25, even though it’s a 2:30 meeting. Just everyone being five minutes early. The coaches are holding everyone accountable in the meetings, going to class.
“Just the little things that makes a team great, not just the big, broad things that everyone sees.”
There was an implication from everyone, though nothing said explicitly, that the past two seasons featured little enforcement. Most players would show up on time for lifts, but there were those who didn’t, with few repercussions.
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“It’s the little things,” Pierce said. “Guys being late for lifts, guys not being where they’re supposed to be, whether it’s [missing] class. Just enforcing that a little bit heavier, that type of thing. … A lot of coaches say that when you’re being recruited in front of your parents. But for [Whittingham] to say that in front of the huddle after practice and say, ‘That’s why I’m here,’ I would say, ‘OK, he cares. He gets it.’”
Throughout the offseason, some who’ve spent time inside the facility said the weightlifting sessions had notably more juice. The past two years felt like a carryover of the previous years in terms of style, but accountability and discipline wavered.
Now, with Doug Elisaia leading the strength and conditioning room, there are different philosophies.
RAINIER SABIN: Kyle Whittingham is dreaming big for Michigan football; it’s doable
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Practices are a bit shorter these days – two hours – but as Marshall said, “I don’t stop moving at practice, like, we’re always doing something that’s not only going to help with us competing with teams, but our conditioning.”
Marshall believes it can take the Wolverines to the next level, he said.
Just more than a week into spring ball, players are oozing confidence. Not just in their skills − the running back room is deep, the wide receiver room has as much raw talent as at any point the past decade, the offensive line returned multiple key pieces, the secondary added depth and the defensive tackles feel underrated − but in mindset.
U-M had early, demanding lifting sessions during winter conditioning, with a clear organization.
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“It introduces that factor of toughness, like we’ve been through this at 6:30 a.m., 6:15 a.m., all these days in the grind together,” Pierce said. “It improves team bonding, and puts you in the headspace of, we’ve done harder stuff than this, and nothing can break us.”
The difference between winning and losing can often be razor-thin. Will this pay off when it counts during the season?
“If I can trust you to do things maybe you don’t want to do,” Marshall said, “then I can trust you on the field when it’s the fourth quarter and we have one minute left.”
Tony Garcia is the Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.
LANSING, Mich. (InvestigateTV) — A Lansing school bus driver has won a national award for going above and beyond behind the wheel.
Jackie Wilkerson-Brown, known as Miss Jackie by students, transports children to and from Lansing’s Gardner and Lewton schools. She recently became the first recipient of the 2025 School Bus Driver Hero Award.
“I was like, seriously, seriously, seriously, and I just started crying,” Wilkerson-Brown said.
The award was presented by School Bus Fleet Magazine. Teachers and parents nominated Wilkerson-Brown for the honor.
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Known for being fun and firm
Wilkerson-Brown is known for being fun and firm with students. She hands out candy and leads students in games like the name game on rides home.
“Being a mirror bus driver is just sitting in your bus and, ‘Sit down, stop doing that, stop jumping over the seat,’” Wilkerson-Brown said. “You have to sometimes get up out of your seat and face-to-face with your children.”
Posters of positivity line the inside of her bus.
“I keep it on my bus, and I just try to remind the kids that, you know, smile,” she said. “Kind vibes, happy lives.”
‘Unbelievable honor’
Patrick Dean, president of Dean Transportation, said the recognition is significant.
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“This is an unbelievable honor for Jackie,” Dean said. “Jackie exemplifies everything it means to be a superhero bus driver.”
Todd Sharp, operations manager for Dean Transportation, said Wilkerson-Brown treats students as her own.
“When those students step up on her bus, she treats them as her own. They’re her children while they’re in her care,” Sharp said.
Wilkerson-Brown said she loves her job.
“I’m trying not to get emotional, because I love my job, I love what I do,” she said. “If you call my phone right now, the message is going to say, ‘Hey I’m busy being awesome.’ So, because I am awesome, I am awesome, and then to receive this award, and then it came and I’m employed by Dean Transportation, oh, my God, it doesn’t get any better than that.”
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