Those people wearing “Auto Workers for Trump” t-shirts in the photo below?
They’re Trump supporters who attended a Detroit campaign rally on Tuesday, October 8, 2024, where J.D. Vance was the featured speaker. They were “stationed in a featured spot” behind Vance as he spoke. Six of them later told a reporter they’re not autoworkers (read story here).
So why were they wearing those t-shirts? A retired Ford worker started a pro-Trump group he calls “Auto Workers for Trump,” and his group handed out the t-shirts to the rally attendees. If you think this was just to advertise his group, which is unrelated to the United Auto Workers union, you’re not looking below the surface. He and the rally organizers want to create an impression the Trump-Vance ticket has union support. But the UAW endorsed Harris (see story here).
That same guy is all-in on fossil fuels. He argues Americans shouldn’t drive EVs because China controls the battery materials (that’s not true; there are lithium sources outside of China, and the U.S. could become self-sufficient in lithium by 2030, see story here). He says, “What do we have a lot of in this country underneath our feet? Oil. Gas.” Yes, but what about climate change?
First of all, cars don’t run on natural gas, they run on gasoline and diesel fuel refined from oil. Natural gas is used extensively in the U.S. for electricity generation, as a better alternative than dirty coal, but it’s still a greenhouse gas-emitting hydrocarbon.
Many Republicans, including Trump supporters, are climate deniers. The GOP takes campaign donations from the oil and gas industry, and mostly opposes green energy initiatives. Trump isn’t a fan of electric vehicles, even though Elon Musk, one of his biggest booters, is the guy behind Tesla Motors.
Republicans don’t take carbon pollution seriously, despite escalating natural disasters from the effects of global heating, such as more frequent and powerful storms. That’s fine, they can have their opinions, but Mother Earth doesn’t care whether they believe humans are changing the climate. She’s going to do what she’s gonna do.
And Republicans will keep doing what they do best, which is lying about who they are, and shoving aside inconvenient truths.
