The Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump, speaks at the Detroit Economic Club on October 10, 2024 in Detroit, Michigan. Trump is campaigning in Michigan, a key battleground state, ahead of the upcoming presidential election. (Photo by Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — Former President Donald Trump promised to “save the American auto industry” Thursday during a meandering speech to the Detroit Economic Club, during which he insulted his host city as a “mess” and announced a new plan to make car loan interest payments fully deductible.

Trump unveiled the new plank of his tax plan near the close of his remarks that included berating the United States as “dumb” on trade and pledging, if elected, to “have a lot of fun” renegotiating a trade agreement with Canada and Mexico.

The former president spoke for nearly two hours to the economic club in Michigan, a key swing state.

Trump is already running on a platform to impose across-the-board tariffs, up to 20%, on all imported goods, and at 60% on goods from China. On Thursday he said cars imported from Mexico could see tariffs as high as 200% if he wins in November.

He told the crowd that his newest plan to make interest on car loans fully deductible is “going to revolutionize your industry.”

“This will stimulate massive domestic auto production and make car ownership dramatically more affordable for millions and millions of working American families. This is a phenomenal thing, if I do say so myself,” Trump said.

However, it’s unclear whether the deduction would only be available to taxpayers who itemize, or also to those who take the standard deduction. For example, some deductions, like student loan interest, can be a special exception.

Another question would be the price tag of Trump’s proposal: Americans owe about $1.6 trillion in car loans, according to the quarterly consumer report issued in February by the Federal Reserve of New York.

R&D tax credits

The former president also promised — to applause from the crowd — that U.S.-based carmakers “will be rewarded with expanded research and development tax credits, very substantial, where they will be able to write off 100% of their cost of heavy machinery and other equipment necessary to build a plant in the first year, and full expensing for manufacturing investments.”

The Trump campaign did not respond to emails asking whether the proposals were new, or would be an extension of expiring policies enacted under Trump’s signature 2017 tax law, titled the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

Erica York, senior economist and research director for the Tax Foundation, wrote on X that “R&D tax credits are an entirely separate policy from deductions for R&D expenses or capital expenditures.”

“(B)ut if I had to guess, Trump is probably talking about bringing back immediate R&D expenses and restoring 100 percent bonus depreciation,” wrote York, who’s been closely following the tax debate during the 2024 presidential election.

Except for wanting to change the corporate tax rate — lowering it to 15% — Trump is campaigning on fully renewing the TCJA, which cleared Congress strictly along party lines. The law sunsets at the end of 2025.

‘Take a look at Detroit’

Trump also used his speech to attack trading partners and competitors, at one point describing the European Union as “brutal” and recalling an alleged conversation with former German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

“‘Angela, how many Chevrolets do we have in the middle of Berlin?’ ‘Oh, I do not know. Perhaps, perhaps none.’ ‘You’re right. Angela,’” Trump said he recalled.

“And yet, they send their cars to us. Like a bunch of dummies we are — BMW, Mercedes, Volkswagen, by the millions and millions and millions. We’re not doing that crap anymore,” Trump said. “Now they’re gonna have to play by our rules.”

It is a fact that American cars are on the streets of Europe.

But China was the “biggest abuser” of trade while he was president, he said.

“They were a professional abuser. They did things to us, and they go down as a ‘developing nation,’” he said, as if talking in another’s voice. “‘We are a developing nation.’ But we’re (the U.S. is) a developing nation too — just take a look at Detroit.”

His campaign did not answer an email asking for clarification about the remark.

Harris campaign responds to Detroit visit

Ahead of Trump’s Detroit appearance, Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign organized a press call featuring Shawn Fain, president of the United Auto Workers.

Fain told reporters Trump “has done nothing” to help autoworkers.

“The job-killer-in-chief is once again back in Michigan to do what he does best. He’s going to lie about bringing our jobs back,” Fain said.

The union leader endorsed President Joe Biden in January, and promptly endorsed Harris in July when Biden exited the race.

Biden became the first sitting U.S. president to walk a picket line when he joined striking UAW members in September 2023.

Harris was in Las Vegas, Nevada, Thursday to record a live town hall for Spanish-language network Univision. The question-and-answer session for undecided Hispanic voters was organized by the network’s news division and moderated by TelevisaUnivision’s Enrique Acevedo.

Harris was scheduled to speak at a campaign event Thursday night in Phoenix, Arizona.

‘There will be no rematch!’ 

Once again, the question of another presidential debate has come, and apparently gone.

Fox News on Wednesday issued a final offer to host a live 90-minute presidential debate in Pennsylvania on either Oct. 24 or 27, with moderators Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum.

“THERE WILL BE NO REMATCH!” Trump posted Wednesday evening on his online platform Truth Social.

On Thursday, CNN offered to host live town halls with each candidate.

Ahead on the campaign trail, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz will campaign in Wisconsin on Monday, hitting both Eau Claire and Green Bay.