Promises Made to American Industry Workers on the 2024 RNC StagePromises Made to American Industry Workers on the 2024 RNC Stage

Big changes to the energy and auto industries, a new defense project, and other plans are envisioned by Republication presidential candidate Donald Trump and VP candidate J.D. Vance.

Daphne Allen, Editor-in-Chief

July 19, 2024

4 Min Read
Republican presidential candidate, former U.S. President Donald Trump and Republican VP candidate U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance, Republican National Convention
Republican presidential candidate, former U.S. President Donald Trump, and Republican VP candidate, U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), on the first day of the Republican National Convention.Joe Raedle/Staff/Getty Images News via Getty Images

At this week’s Republication National Convention, former President and 2024 Republication presidential candidate Donald Trump and his running mate J.D. Vance made big promises to American industry workers. But some of Trump's comments could also be seen as less favorable to workers in renewable energy and EV sectors.

Vance set the stage during his nomination acceptance speech as he said, “this moment is not about me, it’s about all of us, and who we’re fighting for.

“It’s about the auto worker in Michigan, wondering why out of touch politicians are destroying their jobs,” he continued. “It’s about the factory worker in Wisconsin, who makes things with their hands and is proud of American craftsmanship. It’s about the energy worker in Pennsylvania and Ohio, who doesn’t understand why Joe Biden is willing to buy energy from tinpot dictators across the world when he could buy it from his own citizens right here in our own country.”

Promising that he and Trump will focus on American workers, Vance said that “we are done sacrificing supply chains to unlimited global trade, and we are going to stamp more and more products with that beautiful label, ‘Made in the USA.’ We will build factories again, put people to work making real products for American families, made with the hands of American workers.”

Vance has a history of encouraging American innovation. He previously worked for three venture capital firms, one of which, Revolution, grew out of an effort to promote startup opportunities in the heartland of America and other non-Silicon Valley cities, according to Fast Company. The publication also reported that Vance listed several tech company investments on his financial disclosure reports, including those in ALTality, Atomos Nuclear and Space Corp., Aurora Insights, Bionaut Labs, Edisun Microgrids, EIE Materials, Guardhat, Hermeus, Immersive Tech, Inscope Medical Solutions, LockerDome, Lynk Global, NeoLight, NeuScience, Sisu Global Health, Slingshot Aerospace, Smartwyre, Sole Power, SparkCharge, and others.

Trump’s Vision for US Energy and Manufacturing

When Trump took the RNC stage, he shared big changes in energy policy on his list, such as increasing oil drilling and stepping away from green energy programs.

“We will drill, baby, drill,” promised Trump, “on day one.” 

“Republicans have a plan to bring down prices very, very rapidly by slashing energy costs,” he said. “We in turn will reduce the cost of transportation, manufacturing, and all household goods—so much starts with energy. And remember, we have more liquid gold under our feet than any other country by far.”

“We will end the ridiculous and actually incredible waste of taxpayer dollars that is fueling the inflation crisis,” he continued. “They spent trillions of dollars on things having to do with the green new scam—it’s a scam—that’s caused tremendous inflationary pressures in addition to the cost of energy.” He said he will redirect any funding left to roads, bridges, and dams and “not allow it to be spent on meaningless green new scam ideas.”

“And I will end the electric vehicle mandate on day one, thereby saving the US auto industry from complete obliteration, which is happening right now, and saving US customers thousands and thousands of dollars per car,” he said. (While he did not identify the specific mandate, some surmise he is referring to EPA policies.) 

Trump isn’t entirely against EVs, however. “I’m all for electric—they have their application,” he said. “But if somebody wants to buy a gas-powered car or a hybrid, they have to be able to do it—and we are going to make that change on day one.”

Trump vowed to bring more car manufacturing to the US. “Those plants are going to be built in the United States and our people are going to man those plants. And if they don’t agree with us, we’ll put a tariff of approximately 100 to 200% on each car and they will be unsellable in the United States.”

Trump also spoke of dealing with manufacturers from other countries that want to sell in America. “The way they will sell their product in America is to build it in America and only in America. . . . Congress has to go along with us, and they will.”

Defense, Medicine, and Beyond

Trump also plans to build an “iron dome missile defense system to ensure that no enemy can strike our homeland, and it will be built entirely in the USA.” 

And he spoke of a focus on medical innovation, such as cures for cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. He told the audience that his administration was responsible for the Right to Try Act intended to make the latest medical advances available to patients.

“America is on the cusp of a new golden age,” Trump said.

Stay Tuned for the Democratic National Convention

The Democratic National Convention will be held August 19-22, 2024, in Chicago. Design News will be tracking DNC plans for American manufacturing, EVs, energy policy, and more.

About the Author

Daphne Allen

Editor-in-Chief, Design News

Daphne Allen is editor-in-chief of Design News. She previously served as editor-in-chief of MD+DI and of Pharmaceutical & Medical Packaging News and also served as an editor for Packaging Digest. Daphne has covered design, manufacturing, materials, packaging, labeling, and regulatory issues for more than 20 years. She has also presented on these topics in several webinars and conferences, most recently discussing design and engineering trends at MD&M West 2024 and leading an Industry ShopTalk discussion during the show on artificial intelligence. She will be moderating the upcoming webinar, Best Practices in Medical Device Engineering and will be leading an Automation Tour at Advanced Manufacturing Minneapolis. She will also be attending DesignCon and MD&M West 2025.

Daphne has previously participated in meetings of the IoPP Medical Device Packaging Technical Committee and served as a judge in awards programs held by The Tube Council and the Healthcare Compliance Packaging Council. She also received the Bert Moore Excellence in Journalism Award in the AIM Awards in 2012.

Follow Daphne on X at @daphneallen and reach her at [email protected].

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