Advisor to the President Ivanka Trump addresses the G20 Women’s Empowerment Event in Osaka, Japan, Saturday, June 29 2019. | Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead via Flickr Public Domain
Ivanka Trump, President Trump’s daughter, on Wednesday toured a General Motors design and tech facility in metro Detroit.
Ivanka Trump, also an adviser to the president, joined GM CEO Mary Barra on a two-hour-long tour of GM’s Technical Learning University (TLU), which is located at the company’s Global Technical Center in Warren. TLU’s manufacturing laboratory facilities recently underwent a $2 million upgrade that was completed last month.
In a statement released ahead of the tour, Trump touted the “great American comeback,” a Trump administration policy that pushes claims of U.S. energy superiority, economic gain and now, recovery from the still-ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
“Detroit, GM, and the talented GM workforce are ensuring the great American comeback is underway and I’m looking forward to seeing it firsthand,” Ivanka Trump said.
Also on the tour were Karen Dunn Kelley, the deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce, and Chris Barclay, a GM global asset manager.
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During the tour, Barra promoted TLU’s technical programs for skilled trade and salaried workers, which include an electrical apprentice program, worker training program and Controls Engineering College.
Trump is the latest in a series of Trump administration officials to visit the automaker ahead of the Nov. 3 general election.
In July, Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette visited the Global Technical Center. In April, Vice President Mike Pence visited a GM facility in Kokomo, Ind., which co-produced ventilators with Ventec Life Systems during the COVID-19 pandemic.
President Trump in the past has claimed credit for U.S.-based manufacturing and auto investments. He’s been vocal about keeping manufacturing jobs in the country. Trump in 2019 attacked GM and Barra for laying off workers at production plants across several states.
Trump also lambasted GM in March for its response to producing ventilators for COVID-19 patients and claimed the company wanted “top dollar” for them.
GM officials said they were waiting for regulatory approval before they could start production. The company later reached a multimillion-dollar deal with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to manufacture them.
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