Wisconsin Dems target Trump-era manufacturing deal before 2024 battle.
Ahead of Possible Rematch, Democrats Highlight Failed Manufacturing Jobs Plan in Wisconsin
As the possibility of a rematch between former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden in 2024 looms, Democrats in the battleground state of Wisconsin are drawing attention to a collapsed plan for 13,000 manufacturing jobs in the state. This plan had been heavily promoted by Trump’s White House in 2017 as a success for his “America First” agenda.
“Just this week, the biggest failure of the Trump-[former Wisconsin Gov. Scott] Walker era, Foxconn announced it would sell two properties in Green Bay and Eau Claire, abandoning plans that would have brought over 500 jobs to the Badger State,” Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chairman Ben Wikler told reporters during a press call celebrating the one-year anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act.
The Foxconn Wisconsin deal, announced by Trump’s administration in 2017, was initially hailed as a sign of a tech manufacturing revival in the United States. However, in 2021, it was revealed that the company was significantly reducing its investment in the state, cutting the promised $10 billion to $672 million. Instead of the projected 13,000 new jobs, only 1,454 would be created. The proposed 20-million-square-foot manufacturing campus never materialized, despite it being a historic opportunity for a foreign-based company to make such a large investment in a new location.
“For years, Scott Walker and Donald Trump made empty promises about bringing new jobs home to our state [and] about rebuilding our state’s infrastructure. All of those promises went unfulfilled,” Wikler said, highlighting the contrast between the failures of the Trump-Walker era and the job growth and record low unemployment numbers experienced under the Biden-Harris and Gov. Tony Evers (D-WI) administrations.
The Democratic National Committee and Biden’s campaign are also using the collapsed investment by Foxconn as an example of Trump’s lack of follow-through. They argue that it demonstrates his inability to handle the economy effectively.
“I still remember when Donald Trump promised tens of thousands of Foxconn jobs in Wisconsin. What a colossal failure,” DNC National press secretary Ammar Moussa wrote on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
Biden campaign spokesman Kevin Munoz echoed this sentiment, stating, “President Biden has succeeded where the former president failed American families, including by helping create nearly 800,000 manufacturing jobs that actually exist throughout the country and more than doubling the construction of new manufacturing plants.”
Despite improvements in several economic markers during Biden’s administration, a recent New York Times-Siena poll revealed that voters still perceive the U.S. economy as poor. Over half of those surveyed, 58%, rated economic conditions negatively, despite declining inflation and a near 50-year low in unemployment rates.
Given that the economy is considered the most important issue for voters in 2024, Democrats are focused on convincing Wisconsin voters that Biden is better equipped to handle the economy than Trump. Wikler emphasized the contrast between the Biden administration’s bipartisan bills and the failed Foxconn deal promoted by Trump.
Wisconsin will be a crucial state in the 2024 presidential contest. In 2016, Trump won the state in a surprise victory over former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. However, in 2020, Biden narrowly defeated Trump in Wisconsin. Recent polls indicate that Biden maintains a lead over Trump in the state, as well as against potential GOP primary opponent Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL).
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