GM CEO moves to curry favor with Trump, but it will have to be more than lip service

Signaling a sea change, an auto industry CEO with a habit of opposing America First policies continued taking strides to align with President Donald Trump’s agenda.

From tariffs to deportations, the commander-in-chief has continued to win the approval of blue-collar workers across the country by confronting the issues actually talked about around the dinner table. As auto workers celebrated efforts to revitalize the industry stateside, General Motors CEO Mary Barra took her own steps toward approval with investments across the country.

In a May 1 letter to shareholders where she expressed gratitude “to President Trump for his support of the U.S. automotive industry” and noted “continual discussions with the President and his team” the CEO since 2015 stated, “They have invested the time to understand what it takes to be successful in this capital-intensive and highly competitive global industry, how we can work together to grow American manufacturing, and the importance of companies like GM to communities across the country.”

This came months after her company joined the Ford Motor Company and Big Tech companies in donating $1 million toward the president’s January inauguration having told Axios’ Joann Muller in December, “I’m actually looking forward to working with the president and with the administration, because I think we can grow the importance of the auto industry and manufacturing, and so I think there’s a lot that we have in common.”

These actions, as well as an announced $4 billion investment heavily geared toward gasoline-powered vehicles, were readily received as a change of heart from GM under Barra, which, according to a report from Bloomberg, built more than half of the vehicles sold in the U.S. in 2024 overseas.

In 2018, Trump expressed his disappointment with the company amid domestic plant closures, stating, “Very disappointed with General Motors and their CEO, Mary Barra, for closing plants in Ohio, Michigan and Maryland. Nothing being closed in Mexico & China. The U.S. saved General Motors, and this is the THANKS we get! We are now looking at cutting all @GM subsidies, including for electric cars. General Motors made a big China bet years ago when they built plants there (and in Mexico) — don’t think that bet is going to pay off. I am here to protect America’s Workers!”

….for electric cars. General Motors made a big China bet years ago when they built plants there (and in Mexico) – don’t think that bet is going to pay off. I am here to protect America’s Workers!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 27, 2018

Having previously pledged $13 billion toward American plants as part of a settlement to end a United Auto Workers strike in 2023, a spokesperson for GM countered the suggestion that the company wasn’t already committed to U.S. workers, as it was explained that the latest investment added to previous commitments.

“GM has demonstrated an ongoing commitment to build vehicles in the U.S. and to support American jobs,” the spokesperson told Fox Business. “GM has a network of 50 U.S. manufacturing plants and parts facilities in 19 states, including 11 vehicle assembly plants. Nearly one million people in the U.S. depend on GM for their livelihood, including employees, suppliers, and dealers.”

“This is a classic example of a big corporation cozying up to a political office holder to garner influence. Instead of making vehicles people actually want, for a price they can afford, with American labor and American materials, GM has failed on all four counts, all because it was banking on Democrats forcing consumers into EVs,” Heritage Foundation Chief Economist EJ Antoni told the outlet as the president put the kibosh on California’s green agenda-driven effort to force the market toward electric vehicles.

Antoni insisted GM will “need to do more than pay lip service to President Trump’s agenda if it wants to turn the corner from this misguided bet on EVs.”

“GM foolishly went all-in on the transition to electric vehicles, and that bet hasn’t paid out. When you look at political donations, GM and its affiliates have been giving much more money to Democrats, including Kamala Harris, than Republicans–another bet that hasn’t paid out,” he added.

Similarly, a senior GOP operative told Fox Business, “GM is just the latest of companies to play the America First card, while shipping jobs and production overseas. President Trump has been the single greatest job creator this country has ever seen.”

In another move sure to curry favor, the auto company provided 10 vehicles to the United States Secret Service for research and testing, to which the agency expressed, “The vehicles arrived on Wednesday courtesy of an agreement with General Motors, which supplies some of the Secret Service’s most visible protective vehicles. This includes presidential parade limousines and other armored SUVs often spotted in motorcades.”

Staff Writer

Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn’t researching current events and their impacts, you’ll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.

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