U.S. drivers bought more new cars and trucks in 2016 than they ever have, edging out the record set just one year earlier to give the auto industry an unprecedented seventh consecutive year of sales growth. […]U.S. automakers, in particular, were able to match or exceed last year’s sales totals.
Rep. John Boehner (R-OH): “Does anyone really believe that politicians and bureaucrats in Washington can successfully steer a multi-national corporation to economic viability?” [6/1/09]
Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL): “It’s basically going to be a government-owned, government-run company…. It’s the road toward socialism.” [5/29/09]
Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC): “Now the government has forced taxpayers to buy these failing companies without any plausible plan for profitability. Does anyone think the same government that plans to double the national debt in five years will turn GM around in the same time?” [6/2/09]
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Rep. Tom Price (R-GA): “Unfortunately, this is just another sad chapter in President Obama’s eager campaign to interject his administration in the private sector’s business dealings.” [6/2/09]
Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ): When government gets involved in a company, “the disaster that follows is predictable.” [7/22/09]
And then there’s Donald Trump, who was asked in 2015 about his position on Obama’s industry rescue. His answer meandered incoherently for a while, suggesting he didn’t know anything about the substance of the policy, and hadn’t bothered to read up on it in advance of a campaign swing through Michigan.This week, Trump made matters just a little worse with comments that suggest he still isn’t up to speed on the industry.And while the president-elect is constantly trying to claim credit for economic successes that exist largely in his imagination, it’s Obama who usually doesn’t get the credit he deserves for rescuing American auto companies.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."