Trump Is Also Skipping the Second Debate

In favor of giving a speech to workers, union members
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 19, 2023 12:00 AM CDT
Trump Will Skip Second Debate, Too
Former President Donald Trump speaks at the Pray Vote Stand Summit, Friday, Sept. 15, 2023,, in Washington.   (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Count former President Trump out for the second debate of the 2024 Republican presidential primary season, too. Trump, who gave Tucker Carlson an interview instead of attending the first debate in August, will be in Detroit on September 27, the day of the next debate, multiple advisers tell media outlets including the New York Times, the Washington Post, and Politico. While his fellow presidential contenders are debating at southern California's Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum, Trump will be giving a primetime speech to more than 500 union members representing various trades, including autoworkers. The news comes days after United Auto Workers went on strike, and is the latest example of Trump's attempts to appear to be on the side of the striking workers.

Whether those workers are buying it, though, is another story. UAW President Shawn Fain's reaction to Trump's speech: "Every fiber of our union is being poured into fighting the billionaire class and an economy that enriches people like Donald Trump at the expense of workers. We can't keep electing billionaires and millionaires that don't have any understanding what it is like to live paycheck to paycheck and struggle to get by and expecting them to solve the problems of the working class." As the Times notes, while Trump prides himself on appealing to union workers, most union leaders are not fans. Also coming soon: a radio ad claiming Trump calls striking workers "great Americans and has always had their backs." He has not, however, weighed in on their actual demands. (More Donald Trump 2024 stories.)

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