Joe Biden Should Head to Detroit Before Trump Muddies the Waters

Joe Biden has described himself as the “most pro-union president you’ve ever seen.” Now, for for the stake of his own own political prospects as well as the striking United Auto Workers in Detroit, it’s time for him to back that up: “I really do feel Biden should show up,” as Michigan State Representative Mike McFall told the Washington Post, “and show up soon.”

His likely 2024 opponent, at least, is planning on it. Aides to Donald Trump on Monday told the New York Times that the former president would skip the next GOP debate September 27 and instead give a speech to past and current union members. It’s a cynical ploy for votes—and one that has already been sharply criticized by UAW President Shawn Fain: “Every fiber of our union is being poured into fighting the billionaire class and an economy that enriches people like Donald Trump at the expense of workers,” Fain said in a statement. But Trump’s direct appeal to the union could help him make further inroads with the working class—despite backing policies (like more tax cuts for the rich) that benefit him and his billionaire buddies: “The autoworkers are being sold down the river by their leadership,” Trump said in a Meet the Press interview over the weekend, criticizing both Fain and Biden, “and their leadership should endorse Trump.”

Where Trump has criticized UAW leadership, Biden has already expressed support for the striking workers—and has dispatched a White House team to Detroit to help resolve the historic walkout. “Auto companies have seen record profits, including the last few years, because of the extraordinary skill and sacrifices of the UAW workers,” Biden said last week, as the strike took effect. “But those record profits have not been shared fairly, in my view, with those workers.”

“No one wants a strike,” the president continued. “But I respect workers’ right to use their options under the collective bargaining system, and I understand the workers’ frustration.”

The contrast between Biden and Trump on workers’ rights is already stark, so it is perhaps understandable that the White House would seem a bit irked at the questions about whether the president will go to Detroit in light of his opponent’s visit, as the Post’s Jeff Stein pointed out. But for an administration that has acknowledged it needs to do a better job of selling the public on its policies and achievements—particularly on the economy—this should be an opportunity to drive home that distinction before Trump comes in to muddy the waters. “President Biden can take over the narrative and show that the administration, and Democrats as a whole, are supporting their biggest base, which are unions and the working class,” State Representative Donavan McKinney told the Post. “It would speak volumes.”

“If we don’t use this moment,” as Michigan Representative Elissa Slotkin told my colleague Chris Smith last week, “shame on us.”

That’s not to say the issue doesn’t present political complications for a sitting president, who has—in other recent labor disputes—seemed to try to balance his sympathy for workers with the broader impacts of these standoffs on the economy. But in standing with the strikers, Biden would not only make a strong reelection case to the working class that helped him win in 2020; he could help the workers get the fair share he says they deserve. “It’s time for politicians in this country to pick a side,” Fain told CNBC last week, ahead of the walk-out. “Either you stand for a billionaire class where everybody else gets left behind, or you stand for the working class.”