Trump Details Big Plans in Detroit: ‘The Assault on the American Auto Industry is Over’

President Donald Trump met with automaker CEOs and workers in Detroit, promising to work with them to keep more jobs and factories in the United States.

“We’re going to do some wonderful work with you, but you’re going to have to help us with jobs,” Trump told the CEOs during a roundtable meeting.

Trump promised to revisit the Obama-era CAFE milage standards and cut regulations to make it easier for auto companies to bring back jobs.

“We want you to make great cars, but if it takes an extra thimble of fuel, we want you to do it,” Trump said to the CEOs during the meeting. Trump met with over a dozen executives including the CEOs of Ford, General Motors, and Fiat Chrysler. Other executives from Hyundai, Volvo, Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Kia, and Volkswagen also attended.

The president toured the American Center for Mobility facility which featured eleven vehicle models that were built in the United States. Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao and EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt also joined Trump on his trip.

After the meeting Trump delivered a speech to a crowd of auto workers, with a backdrop sign that read “Buy American, Hire American.”

“It’s not just a motto, it’s a pledge,” Trump told the applauding crowd. “It’s a pledge to the working people of this country. The era of economic surrender for the United States is over.”

He praised the auto industry CEOs for providing tens of thousands of jobs for American workers.

“The assault on the American auto industry, believe me, is over,” he said during his speech.

He even praised industry leaders from foreign car companies that were building factories and creating jobs in the United States.

“We love them, too,” he said. “Right?”

The president reminded them that he stopped the unfair Transpacific Partnership trade deal, and started working with auto CEOs to bring more jobs back to the United States. He promised to continue fighting to keep manufacturing in the United States.

“No country can long lead the free world if it does not protect its industries and care for its people and protect its borders,” Trump said, vowing to create a new industrial revolution. “America will be respected again.”