Trump visits Ford F-150 plant, touting Big 3 comeback: 'I want cars made here'

President Trump tours Ford F-150 plant in Dearborn

(Full remarks) President Donald Trump was at the F-150 plant in Dearborn with top brass from Ford to tout the recovery of the American auto industry.

DEARBORN, Mich. (FOX 2) - President Donald Trump landed in Detroit and made a stop at the Ford Rouge plant to tour the facility where the top-selling F-150 truck is built, alongside Bill Ford Jr. and Ford CEO Jim Farley Tuesday.

What they're saying:

The president was asked if his reason for the stop prior to date with the Detroit Economic Club was because Ford assembles 80 percent of its vehicles domestically.

"No, I came here because we're friends, the three of us (Ford and Farley)," he said. "(And) because I helped the company a lot."

Trump said having vehicles made in the US is his top priority after being asked by a reporter about the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement.

"I don't even think about the USMCA," he said. "I want Mexico and Canada to survive, but we don't need their product. We want cars built here. They are all doing great, the car industry is exciting, and to be honest Bill, every industry is exciting."

Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford, Jr. said the plant is expanding to 24-hour shifts, six days a week. 

"They just said their business is better than ever. They are doing around the clock, they are doing expansions they are building more plants in the United States  because of tariffs," Trump said. "Before it only used to go three hours around the clock.

"All of the US automakers are doing great. Before that they were having a really hard time., The environmentalists would not have let them survive."

Bill Ford added that they have a great relationship with the Trump administration and that the plant schedule expansion shows the demand for the truck. 

"He personally is great to work with, we are adding market share and adding jobs," Ford said.

Ford credited Trump for attempting to rebuild the US industrial base, which has been a priority.

Dig deeper:

Farley chimed in, adding that Ford is working on building a new affordable combustion truck in Tennessee. Recently Ford announced that the Tennessee Electric Vehicle Center is transitioning to being called the Tennessee Truck Plant in Stanton, where the new truck will be built.

"That's what these (Trump) policies are doing for Ford," Farley said.

Trump said that his administration has a 100% tariff on vehicles coming from China, which has helped the Big Three and a 25% tariff on trucks coming into the US.

"Everyone said that cars are dead in the United States," the president said. "If you would have gone back four years into the middle of the Biden administration, everyone was closing up their plants - now we have more plants being built at any point in our history." 

During his visit, Trump also praised the production of the F-150 after his brief tour. 

"The quality is unbelievable," he said. "And I don't know much about cars, but I know about getting people working. All I can tell you is that people talk so much about the F-150 and it has been for a long time.

"The F-150 has been doing great for a long time because they make a great product."

Trump later visited the Detroit Economic Club after his visit to the Ford plant where he spoke for more than an hour about foreign and domestic issues. 

He briefly touched on the recovery of the American auto industry, connecting his argument to his claims of success based on US tariffs.