Biden's presence at the event was historic and extraordinary: Both the White House and labor union experts said that a sitting president has never walked a picket line in support of striking workers.
Presidents typically try to mediate when management and labor union disputes threaten to disrupt the economy.
President Ronald Reagan in 1981 fired more than 11,000 striking air traffic controllers, delivering a major blow to the labor union movement.
Trump also promised auto workers in Lordstown, Ohio, in 2017 that their plant would not close, so “don’t move.
Biden's backing of electric vehicles has some auto union members worried they will lose their jobs in gasoline-powered auto plants, and Trump has exploited that concern to his advantage.
Persons:
Joe Biden, Biden, you’ve, Ronald Reagan, It's, Erin Hatton, Donald Trump, Trump, Sean Fain, Ford, they're, Erik Loomis, Loomis, Hatton, Hattan
Organizations:
United Auto Workers, Ford, Big Three, White House, UAW, Motor Co, General Motors, Chrysler, University of Buffalo, Michigan, Trump, Anderson Economic Group, Gallup, Hollywood, Writers Guild of America, University of Rhode
Locations:
Michigan, Wayne County, Lordstown , Ohio, Michigan’s Macomb County, California, University of Rhode Island, Las Vegas