Ford Motor Co. announced Tuesday it has scrubbed plans to build a new $1.6 billion assembly plant in Mexico, a project that had been spotlighted by then-candidate Donald Trump, especially after Ford said it would move small car production from the U.S. into that new factory.But while the move is being hailed by some as a victory for the president-elect, a closer look at the announcement, made by senior Ford executives at a suburban Detroit assembly plant, did not actually reverse the central decision the automaker announced last April.Small car production, such as the compact Focus model, will still move to Mexico, just into an existing Ford plant in Hermosillo.
The report added that Ford will expand a Michigan factory, adding about 700 jobs, but that project “appears likely to have happened anyway,” based on sales of the cars made at that plant.And yet, there was Trump, crediting himself for the developments.Slate‘s Daniel Gross explained that if you want to give a politician credit for this, you can start with Presidents Obama and Bush. Obama, of course, rescued the auto industry — with a policy Republicans were certain would fail — and Bush started the Department of Energy’s Loan Guarantee Program, which Ford took advantage of, and which ultimately helped lead to yesterday’s good news.Given this track record, the next time Trump takes credit for saved or created jobs, it’s a safe bet he isn’t telling the truth.
Recommended
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."