JD Vance Rally Attendees Wearing 'Auto Workers For Trump' T-Shirts Weren’t Actually Auto Workers

Political rallies bring out all kinds of catchy slogans from people who are there to support their heroes. Now, a group of people sporting “Auto Workers For Trump” tops at a JD Vance rally this week in Detroit have been found to have very little in common with the message they’re supporting.

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In Detroit this week, vice presidential hopeful JD Vance hosted a rally to drum up support for Donald Trump in his reelection campaign. During the sparsley attended rally, a group of supporters was spotted sporting t-shirts emblazoned with the slogan “Auto Workers For Trump,” which might lead you to think that the people wearing the tops hold some kind of humble jobs in the auto industry.

It appears that at least around half of the people wearing the tops don’t work in the auto industry at all, reports the Detroit News:

Vance, the running mate of former President Donald Trump and a U.S. senator from Ohio, spoke and took questions for about an hour in Detroit’s Eastern Market Shed 3. Several hundred people attended the event, including more than a dozen who were wearing “auto workers for Trump” shirts. However, six of the people in the shirts told The Detroit News on Tuesday they were not actually auto workers.

The shirts were distributed by the Auto Workers For Trump 2024 group, reports Newsweek. The organization was reportedly set up following the United Auto Workers (UAW) union’s endorsement of Kamala Harris.

The group was formed by retired auto worker Brian Pannebecker, who distributed the shirts to spectators and asked members of the auto industry to attend the rally alongside him wearing one of the shirts, as Newsweek reports:

Pannebecker told Newsweek Tuesday evening that he had asked from 30 to 40 autoworkers, both active and retired, if they would like to attend the event to show support for the Republicans’ “pro-American worker policies.”

“A couple of the active auto workers said they had to work and couldn’t get off, and asked if their spouse could have a seat in their place,” he said in a written statement.

“Of course, I said yes, because these families deserve the opportunity to show their support for the candidates who understand what needs to be done to save Detroit’s automotive industry and our economy.”

While “30 to 40” auto workers were approached to wear the tops, a much smaller number of them actually showed up in them. However, their presence was enough to lead Vance to call himself an “ally” of the auto industry while on stage, adding that, should Trump win in November, the administration will throw its support behind the American auto industry.

Analysts aren’t so sure of those promises, however, with some warning that Trump’s policies could pave the way for China to become a global leader in EVs and leave America in the dust.