(VitalNews.org) – Once again, former President Trump will bail on the Republican primary debate, skipping the event for a second time.
Trump said he plans on speaking to autoworkers in Detroit next week while the other GOP candidates return to the debate stage. Two advisers for Trump spoke with the New York Timers and reported the former president will travel next week to deliver a speech to union members in Michigan.
While the other major GOP presidential candidates gather in California at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library on September 27, Trump plans on traveling to Detroit instead. This decision is in line with the former president’s past indication that he doesn’t plan on participating in any of the Republican primary debates.
The first debate was hosted by Fox News in Milwaukee on August 23. As the other GOP contenders duked it out on stage live, Trump arranged to have a special pre-recorded interview with Tucker Carlson air exclusively on Twitter at the same time. Carlson, who is becoming seen as a martyr similar to Trump after Fox News unceremoniously canceled his show, is the highest-rated news anchor in the world.
It was a bold move that sparked an array of controversy. Some accused Trump of cowardice for dodging the other candidates while his supporters see it as strategic, arguing that it would have benefited Trump in no way to take the stage with the other candidates when they were already so far behind him.
The former president’s planned trip to Detroit will happen as a battle continues to rage between automakers General Motors, Stellantis, and Ford and the United Auto Workers (UAW). The union started a major strike against the “Big Three” automobile manufacturing giants a week ago, and after failed negotiations, the contracts for the striking workers expired.
The UAW demands pay increases to match the increased cost of living and a reduction of work-week hours. Some other demands include installing union reps at newly opened plants and enacting pension reforms.
Trump criticized the leadership of UAW but also accused the giant companies’ leadership of selling the workers “down the river.” He will visit and speak to the workers as well as to the auto manufacturing leadership, who Trump said “should endorse” him.
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