The Lordstown facility became a national flashpoint when Trump, while seeking the presidency in 2016, spoke repeatedly about the factory when it was still owned by GM. He called for it to get running again in order to create good-paying, blue-collar jobs in Ohio, a state he won in both 2016 and 2020.
As Bloomberg reported: “GM’s decision in 2018 to close the plant was a blow to then-President Donald Trump, who a year earlier discouraged rally-goers from selling their homes because of all the jobs he vowed to bring back. Democrats seized on the development as a symbol of unfulfilled promises Trump made to voters.”
When GM sold the factory to Lordstown, Trump had tweeted it was “GREAT NEWS FOR OHIO!”
Steve Burns of Lordstown Motors listens as President Donald Trump talks about the Endurance all-electric pickup truck, made in Lordstown, Ohio, at the White House on Sept. 28, 2020.
At the White House in September 2020, Trump brought a new Lordstown truck onto the South Lawn of the White House to tout the company.
“The area was devastated when General Motors moved out,” Trump said that day. “Beyond the plant, it’s incredible what’s happened in the area. It’s booming now. It’s absolutely booming. … It’s an incredible piece of science, technology. It’s going to happen now with more and more trucks. And ultimately they say you’ll be able to do it for less money, and it’s better, which is a good combination.”