(Source: MIRS.news, Published 08/29/2024) (POTTERVILLE) – Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump announced a promise for free in vitro fertilization (IVF) as a part of his pro-family agenda during a campaign stop at a Potterville steel plant. 

Trump said the free IVF treatments would be paid for either through government dollars or through mandated insurance coverage. He also promised that new parents would be able to deduct major expenses from their income taxes.   

“We want more babies, to put it very nicely,” Trump said.   

During the speech, which started roughly two hours late, Trump also spoke against renewable energy and electric vehicle initiatives, claiming that the programs would take money and jobs away from Michigan’s historic automotive industry.  At another point in the speech, he encouraged the few hundred people in attendance to turn around and boo the media in the back of the room. 

The topic of electric vehicles, in particular, was well trodden ground, for Trump and his undercard speakers. 

Republican U.S. Senate nominee Mike Rogers claimed Chinese automotive companies are producing the electric vehicle, insinuating that their production, at the encouragement of Democratic leadership, will cost American jobs. 

“In November, we're going to stop those EVs," Rogers said. “We're going to stop the export of manufacturing to China. We will have your back.”   

Congressional candidate Tom Barrett and U.S. Rep. Lisa McClain (R-Romeo) also introduced and endorsed Trump on stage.  

Trump, who was recently endorsed by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, said that he is not 100 percent against electric vehicle production, but is against government funding and mandates for EVs.   

“Kamala Harris wants to outlaw your car and truck and force you to buy electric vehicles, whether you like it or not,” he said, adding at another point, “Here's what we know about Comrade Kamala Harris. She just doesn't care about the American people, especially hard-working people who are middle-class Americans." 

Trump also criticized the government money invested in renewable energy and pushed for a focus on oil drilling with the slogan- “drill, baby, drill,” which was displayed on several audience member’s signs.  

He closed out his speech by criticizing Harris for a lack of border security under the Biden-Harris administration, inflation and the job market and supporting gender-affirming health care.   

Ahead of Trump’s visit, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer  was joined by Lansing Mayor Andy Schor and UAW Local 900 President Dwayne Walker to talk about how Trump’s second administration would not be pro-worker or pro-union. 

Whitmer said the thing she hears most from Michiganders is that they want good-paying jobs and lower costs for groceries, housing, health care and child care. She said she really questions what Trump would have to say about those things. 

“Here’s the thing, Michiganders already know what Donald Trump would do to our economy, and it’s a ‘no, thank you,’ from us,” Whitmer said.