Updated April 30, 2025 at 7:59 PM EDT
On Tuesday, President Trump marked the 100th day of his second term with a rally at Macomb Community College in Warren, Michigan. Macomb County, a classic blue-collar swing area, voted for Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012 before flipping to Donald Trump in 2016, 2020, and 2024. Yet even as it backed Trump, voters re-elected Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer in 2022 and Democratic county executive Mark Hackel in 2024.
In an interview with Morning Edition, Hackel said the president's early policies are already causing concern. "I think a lot of anxiety across the board, whether it's in education departments, people that provide some assistance to others, the issues dealing with DEI, there's a lot of concerns with our manufacturers, automotive, even in defense," Hackel said. "And so, some of his policies, I think, had a lot of people up in arms and concerned, and I think it was not weighing in his favor during that time."
In a county with roots in manufacturing and defense, and a workforce of nearly 70,000 across 1,600 manufacturers, Hackel says people are watching closely, and cautiously, as tariffs, economic forecasts and political shifts take shape.
Hackel spoke with NPR's Steve Inskeep about how residents are reacting to the current economic climate and policy changes.
This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Interview highlights
Steve Inskeep: What do the automotive tariffs specifically mean for people in Macomb County?
Mark Hackel: Interesting enough, we've talked to a lot of our manufacturers, and even some of the big three. We're having more conversations with them. We're constantly conversing with them to find out what this means. I think they're trying to make a determination, you know, what is real, what is not. Sometimes he says something, he's negotiating with himself. So many of them are taking a measured approach here in Macomb County, kind of the wait and see what's happening, but also trying to make some of those adjustments in case what he says is the direction he's going in, which makes them very concerned.
Inskeep: Are people feeling paralyzed, then?
Hackel: I don't know if it's paralyzed. They're still trying to figure out how they manage what they're doing, trying to provide the connections that they can and making sure that they're sourcing things the way they need to source them, trying to make sure they're providing the outputs of the products. They're still trying to do what they normally have done. But I think the big concern is what is the cost associated with it and how they pass it along to a customer.
Inskeep: Yeah. I guess we should just remind people - the auto industry has set itself up in such a way that products move across the border from Canada and from Mexico to the United States, back and forth. As cars are assembled, the components come from lots of places. The assembly is done in a lot of places. That's really complicated. It's hard to mess with. But when I talk with people in the Midwest, where I'm from, sometimes I hear people say, OK, fine. This is all complicated, but too many manufacturing jobs have gone away. We need a reset. We need something drastic. Do you hear people in your county saying, you know, I don't know what the solution is, but we needed to do something drastic?
Hackel: Yeah, that's definitely part of the conversation. You know, even the United Auto Workers, they're applauding the tariffs, and which was kind of surprising. We weren't sure exactly what that meant. But Shawn Fain was out there kind of crediting the president for doing that.
Inskeep: He's been on this program talking about it.
Hackel: Yeah. He actually lives in Macomb County, as a matter of fact. So, you know, that being said, you're trying to figure out, OK, what does this really mean? You've got - which usually, you would think there'd be opposition on behalf of the auto workers supporting, you know, the president's ideas of bringing these companies, these jobs back to the United States and, in particular, the state of Michigan.
Inskeep: We had an economist on the program today talking about a recession drawing closer. Are you preparing for economic hard times?
Hackel: Yeah. We've heard about that. We've talked to economists. And they tend to think that if there is a recession, Macomb County's going to do pretty well through that process, but it's definitely going to be something that's concerning to us.
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