Attendees of a Michigan rally featuring Republican vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance wore shirts emblazoned with the slogan "Auto Workers for Donald Trump", despite the fact that some of them were not auto workers at all.
Over a dozen people in attendance at Tuesday's rally wore the shirts. At least 6 of those people told The Detroit News that they were not autoworkers at all, and that someone had given them the shirts to wear.
Two attendees, Carl Leonard of Chesterfield Township and Terry Flannery of Richmond, said that they received the shirts from Brian Pannebecker, founder of the Auto Workers for Trump group.
"What do we have a lot of in this country underneath our feet? Oil. Gas," Pannebecker said on Tuesday. "We don't have the materials necessary to build electrical vehicle batteries. It's a no brainer."
Despite admitting to displaying a false identity, Leonard continued to praise the former President's plans for the auto industry.
"He's for keeping the company strong," said Leonard. "I think you have to have that or else there's nothing left for the unions."
For his part, Sen. Vance reiterated his ticket's commitment to investing in autoworkers while dodging a question about whether or not the Trump administration would follow through on investments in electric vehicles planned for the state of Michigan.
"So neither me nor President Trump has ever said that we want to take any money that's going to Michigan auto workers out of the state of Michigan," Vance said. "We certainly want to invest in Michigan auto workers as much as possible."
Spokesperson for Harris' campaign, Joseph Costello, said that investing in EV manufacturing would help bolster local manufacturing.
"Major investments in Michigan auto jobs made possible by Vice President Harris aren't 'table scraps,' they're a lifeline that is building the future of American manufacturing," Costello said in a statement. "JD Vance and Donald Trump are out of touch with Michigan, and it's obvious when you see them threatening to abandon Michigan workers and cede the future of manufacturing to China."
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