Johnathan Walker:Copycat Joe? Trump plans visit with Michigan UAW workers, Biden scrambles to do the same.

President Joe Biden must be Johnathan Walkerembarrassed he didn’t think of this first. 

The self-declared most pro-union president in history got beat in planning a visit with striking UAW workers in Michigan. 

And Biden didn’t get beat by a fellow Democrat – rather, by former Republican President Donald Trump.

Days before Biden announced he’d “stand in solidarity” on the picket line with union workers (likely a first for a sitting president), Trump had already said he was coming to talk to some of the same union members. 

Biden tried to make it look like he came up with the idea first, with plans to sweep into Michigan Tuesday in a hastily planned trip – one day ahead of Trump’s scheduled appearance Wednesday. 

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Trump summed up the situation like this on Truth Social: “Crooked Joe Biden had no intention of going to visit the United Autoworkers, until I announced that I would be heading to Michigan to be with them. ... If the UAW ‘leadership’ doesn’t ENDORSE me, and if I don’t win the Election, the Autoworkers are ‘toast,’ with our great truckers to follow.”

As of yet, the UAW has withheld its endorsement of Biden in his bid for reelection. Union leaders are going to make the president grovel for their support.

UAW President Shawn Fain did extend an invite to Biden last week to join workers on the picket line, despite recent criticism of the president's lackluster support. And Fain has no love for Trump.

Michigan is a key 2024 battleground

Somewhat laughably, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre claimed Monday that Biden’s decision to come to Michigan wasn’t spurred by Trump’s visit. 

“This decision to visit the picket line was based on his own desire,” she said at a news briefing. “This is what the president wanted – to stand with autoworkers. That’s what you’re going to see the president do tomorrow.”

The strike began Sept. 15, so Biden could have planned this much earlier. 

Regardless, the jockeying going on here is about more than just the autoworkers’ strike. 

It’s about the 2024 election. Trump is by far the leading GOP contender, and he knows how important winning Michigan would be come November next year. He scheduled his prime-time speech Wednesday specifically to compete with the second scheduled Republican presidential primary debate. In Trump’s mind, he’s already the anointed one. 

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Michigan is a big reason that Trump won the election in 2016, and he earned support in the state by appealing to working-class voters with his “America first” message about keeping jobs in the United States. He even got a fairly large share of the union vote. 

In 2020, that union support swung back to Biden. Yet Biden’s extreme unpopularity and mishandling of the economy changes the outlook for 2024.

More bad news for Biden  

The Detroit-area visits this week from Biden and Trump come amid more troublesome polls for the president. 

A new Washington Post/ABC News survey shows Trump with a nearly 10-point lead over Biden (51% to 42%). 

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And then the latest NBC News poll shows Republicans hold a 21-point advantage over Democrats on their handling of the economy (49% to 28%) – the strongest lead the poll has shown in decades.  

In trying to maintain his union ties, Biden may end up regretting hanging out on the picket line. If the strike goes on for a long time – and it looks like union leadership is prepared to do this – then it could have very negative ripple effects on the economy. 

Voters are already feeling the pain of high inflation. And as the polls indicate, Biden will be blamed for any other hits to the economy. 

Trump’s message to union members is likely to revolve around what he would do to protect their jobs – something they are very concerned about in the Biden administration’s climate-driven push for electric vehicles. EVs don’t require as many workers, and Trump will boast his support for the gas-powered engine and less governmental interference in the industry. 

The fact Trump trumped union-backer Biden on this visit to Michigan highlights the challenges ahead for the president. Trump, for all his faults, has good instincts, and Biden is going to struggle mightily to keep up.

Ingrid Jacques is a columnist at USA TODAY. Contact her at [email protected] or on X, formerly Twitter: @Ingrid_Jacques