Vance in Michigan: Trump's economic goals won't be achieved 'overnight'

BANGOR TOWNSHIP, Mich. — Vice President JD Vance told a crowd in Michigan on Friday that President Donald Trump's administration wouldn't achieve all of its goals for the nation's economy "overnight," but the progress made in their first two months in office was good.

Vance made the remarks during his first visit to Michigan since he and Trump won the Nov. 5 election. The Republican former senator from Ohio spoke inside Vantage Plastics, a plastics manufacturer in Bay County.

"We are not going to put people on welfare instead of giving them good middle-class American jobs," Vance said at one point. "We're not going to drive housing through the roof. We're going to make it affordable again to afford an American home.

"That is what we're trying to do. And yes, my friends, it's not going to happen overnight ... we're not going to be able to fix everything that Joe Biden broke. But I think after several weeks, the progress is pretty good."

During campaign stops in Michigan last fall, Trump promised to end inflation "very quickly" and to make the country affordable again "starting on day one." His economic promises were core feature of his successful victory over Democratic former Vice President Kamala Harris.

Citing high home prices and the national debt, Vance contended that Democratic former President Joe Biden had left Trump a “terrible economy.”

“Now, I have to be honest with you. The road ahead of us is long," Vance said. "But we are already, in just seven short weeks, starting to see early indications of the president’s vision become our shared American reality.”

Vance arrived late Friday morning at MBS International Airport in Saginaw County. He was joined by his wife, second lady Usha Vance, and Kelly Loeffler, administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration. He then traveled in a motorcade to Vantage Plastics on the outskirts of Bay City, where he spoke for about 20 minutes.

Along the drive to the event, dozens of protesters could be seen holding signs and yelling at the vice president's motorcade.

"Resist the Nazi takeover," one of the signs said.

Both Vance and Loeffler referenced the demonstrators during their remarks inside Vantage Plastics. Vance questioned if they had jobs.

"There are protesters who are upset we've come here to celebrate American industry," Loeffler said. "I've got bad news for them. This administration will never apologize for standing behind the hardworking Americans who power this great nation."

The crowd for inside Vantage Plastics was a couple hundred people, featuring employees of Vantage Plastics and Republican leaders from Michigan. U.S. Rep. John James of Shelby Township, state House Speaker Matt Hall of Richland Township, state Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt of Porter Township and 2022 candidate for governor Tudor Dixon of Norton Shores were all in attendance.

As examples of the progress Vance sees, he said egg prices were "lower than they were" at the end of Biden's term and gas prices were "much lower."

The average price of regular gasoline in Michigan this week is about $3.04 per gallon, a 13% decrease from about $3.50 a gallon a year ago, according to AAA Michigan.

Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows egg prices nationally were at about $5.90 a dozen in February, the highest monthly average in years, including in December, when eggs were $4.15 per dozen, and January, when eggs were $4.95 a dozen. In January 2024, a dozen eggs were $2.52, federal data show.

But a Friday report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture indicated wholesale egg prices “continued on a sharp downward trajectory” because there have been no significant bird flu outbreaks in the first two weeks of March.

The report indicated wholesale national prices for trucklot quantities of large, white eggs decreased by $2.70 from the prior week to $4.15 a dozen; in the Midwest, wholesale prices for large, white eggs decreased by 95 cents from the prior week to $7.47 per dozen.

But those decreases have “yet to be reflected at store shelves," the USDA report said.

A Wednesday report from the federal Labor Department said the consumer price index increased 2.8% in February from a year ago, down from 3% the previous month.

"We've got inflation at the lowest level that we've seen in many years for the American people," Vance said.

However, the U.S. stock market declined sharply early in the week as a trade war over tariffs, pushed by Trump, escalated between the U.S. and Canada.

In a post on social media Tuesday, Trump vowed to "substantially increase" upcoming tariffs on cars coming into the U.S. from Canada unless "egregious, longtime tariffs" aren't dropped by Canada.

"Those cars can easily be made in the USA," Trump wrote of cars manufactured in Canada. "Also, Canada pays very little for national security, relying on the United States for military protection. We are subsidizing Canada to the tune of more than 200 billion dollars a year."

In March, Trump announced a one-month delay, until April 2, of blanket 25% tariffs on imported vehicles from Canada and Mexico. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, has criticized the planned 25% tariffs, saying they represented a "blunt tool when the Michigan economy is on the line."

"Think about this: 70% of all the auto parts we make in Michigan go directly to our neighbors," Whitmer said during a speech in January. "Every time a Michigan auto part crosses over the border and gets taxed, those costs will be passed on to you at the dealership.

"Sometimes, it happens a couple times throughout production. That means you’ll pay more to buy a Silverado, fix the engine in your Mustang or replace the fender on your Jeep Grand Cherokee."

The stakes are high for Michigan which had 165,100 jobs in vehicle and parts manufacturing in December, according to preliminary numbers from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Vance contended that companies that manufacture products in the U.S. would find lower taxes and cheaper energy.

"If you want to be rewarded, build in America,” Vance said. “If you want to be penalized, build outside of America.”

Vance referenced Democratic governors in his speech in Michigan on Friday.

"It's kinda funny to see some of our Democrat governors in various parts, I wouldn't mention which states exactly, coming to the Oval Office and begging for economic development under Trump's leadership that they would never get under Biden's leadership," Vance said.

Whitmer met with Trump in the White House on Thursday. In a statement, the second-term Democratic governor said she "discussed bringing good paying jobs to Michigan" with the GOP president.

"We also discussed tariffs, the importance of keeping our Great Lakes clean and safe and additional defense investments in Michigan," Whitmer said.

For the past year, Whitmer has been lobbying the Pentagon under the Biden and Trump administrations to assign a new fighter jet mission to Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Macomb County, which is losing its A-10 squadron to retirement.

Vance said he carried word from the president to Michigan on Friday that Trump would work with Democrats, Republicans or independents to "build, baby, build."

On Thursday, The Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget said the state's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate had ticked upward to 5.3% in January, from 5.2% in December. However, total employment in Michigan also rose by 6,000 in January, according to the state department's data.

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(Detroit News staff writer Beth LeBlanc contributed to this story.)