China’s influence is increasing in Michigan It has become “a huge issue of concern” for voters in the key battleground state, according to a Trump-backed House candidate sounding the alarm over “failed Democratic” policies in the Great Lakes state.
“This is a huge issue of concern from both a national security and economic security standpoint,” Tom Barrett, the Republican House candidate to represent Michigan, told Fox News Digital in a Zoom interview this week. “Here in Michigan, Democrats are giving nearly $200 million of state taxes to a Chinese-backed, Communist Party-affiliated company that’s going to come to Michigan to build a battery plant. They’ve already bought a huge chunk of rural farmland And build a Chinese Communist Party-backed battery plant in Michigan, not far from the military installation where I trained for countless hours during my career in the Army.”
Barrett is an Army veteran who served in Michigan’s State House and State Senate before launching her run to represent the 7th District in the U.S. House. Barrett earned Trump’s “full and complete endorsement” of her run for the House seat earlier this year, and spoke to Fox News Digital about the top issues she’s highlighting during the campaign, including rising inflation, Border policies, including fentanyl overdose deaths as well. China’s increasing influence in the state,
“While families in Michigan are struggling to make ends meet and pay the cost of buying groceries, heating their home, our state government, supported by my opponent, is spending nearly $200 million of their state tax money a The Chinese are sending communist companies so they can come over here and spy on us, this is totally nasty.
Republican Michigan State Senator Tom Barrett, his party’s nominee for Congress in Michigan’s 7th Congressional District, speaks to supporters on the campaign trail. (Tom Barrett for Congress)
In 2022, Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced that China-based manufacturer Goshan will build a $2.4 billion electric vehicle battery plant in a rural area of the state near Big Rapids. The announcement was met with an outcry from residents, including local leaders, who were working to overturn the water supply agreement, which could have disrupted construction of the plant. Goshan sued the township, Green Charter and scored a legal victory last month when a federal judge upheld a preliminary injunction allowing construction to continue.
Barrett’s opponent this cycle, Curtis Hertel, served as Whitmer’s director of legislative affairs from 2015 to 2023, before serving in the state Senate.
“My opponent signed a nondisclosure agreement to negotiate sending this money to this Chinese company when he was a member of the State Senate and then later went on to serve as Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s chief lobbyist. She is listed in the Foreign Agents Registry Act filing as having “secret talks with this Chinese company about maneuvering through the legislature to get her funding approved,” Barrett said of her opponent and Democrats in the state.
Hertel’s campaign did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for contact.
a spokesperson for Whitmer’s fighting like hell PAC Fox News Digital told Barrett’s comments were “misleading”.
“This is another desperate and misleading attempt by Tom Barrett to distract from his record of voting against 5,000 good-paying Mid-Michigan jobs because he wants to keep them overseas,” the spokesperson said.
Barrett pointed to comments by former Obama administration CIA director Leon Panetta, who warned earlier this year that China would likely use the battery plant for espionage purposes.
“I don’t think there’s any question that they would take advantage of that situation,” Panetta warned when asked about the plant during a hearing of the Chinese Communist Party’s House Select Committee on Climate Change in January. “And I think we have to be very careful about what exactly happens. That’s how they work. They’ll set up a manufacturing facility, they’ll set up whatever they can, and then they use that Will do it for myself.” For intelligence purposes. They will use it for their economic purposes.”
Barrett said there is no deal a national security threatBut it also threatens American jobs.
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,It’s all about Joe Biden and Kamala Harris electric vehicle mandate This will systematically replace and eliminate existing manufacturing jobs in Michigan that are the foundation of our economy here. So we have a Chinese company threatening to replace American jobs in traditional manufacturing because of national security concerns with the electric vehicle mandate that is afforded by the Biden administration. So there are a lot of problems with it. It’s an absolutely terrible deal,” he said.
Former state senator Tom Barrett, Republican from Michigan and candidate for the US Republican House, speaking at a primary election night party in August 2024. (Nick Antaya/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“Michiganders are stepping up. They know about it. It’s very unpopular here. And we have to take this fight to the ballot box to make sure we don’t let this escalate.”
Trump related to farmers Earlier this week during a panel in Pennsylvania, another battleground state, where he discussed China’s recent purchases of American farmland and the re-imposition of a trade agreement against China that would have benefited American farmers. Is.
“My first call, I’m going to call President Xi. I’m going to say, ‘You have to honor the agreement you made. We made a deal. You will buy $50 billion worth of American agricultural products. ‘ And I guarantee you he buys it 100%,” Trump said during a campaign event in Smithton, Pennsylvania, on Monday.
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Trump struck a trade deal with China in 2020 that included commitments from Beijing to stop intellectual property theft, avoid currency manipulation, cooperate in financial services, and Buy an additional $200 billion of American products Over two years, that includes up to $50 billion of American agriculture.
“The second thing I’m going to do is you have to give the death penalty to your fentanyl dealers who are shipping fentanyl. You know, death penalty is given in china“They don’t have a drug problem because they do the death penalty,” Trump said.
Republican presidential candidate, former US President Donald Trump, looks on during a campaign stop to address Pennsylvanians concerned about the threat of Communist China to American agriculture at the Smith Family Farm in Smithton, Pennsylvania, on September 23, 2024 . (Photo by Vin McNamee/Getty Images)
Fentanyl and overdose deaths It is again one of the top concerns for Americans this election cycle, with Trump blaming the deadly drug for the influx of illegal immigrants at the southern border under the Biden-Harris administration.
Barrett said her area and district are among communities across the country that have been shaken by the influx of synthetic opioids from across the border.
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“Every single community in America, every town, not just in the district where I’m running, but every city in America has been impacted and devastated by the consequences of illegal immigration and lax border policies that have flooded every community. Fentanyl is the leading cause of death in Americans my age, and we have to fix this problem.”
“We have to secure our border with more structures. We have to restore the policy that was in place in Mexico. We cannot allow the exploitation of asylum claims to affect our social welfare system, to affect our border security We need to do this. border patrol agent at the border Instead of processing asylum claims all day long as they are now. And we need to return to two policies that prevent illegal border crossings,” he continued.
Barrett is an Army veteran who signed his contract over Christmas break of his senior year in high school. He spent 22 years in the Army, serving in the Iraq War, Guantanamo Bay, Kuwait and the DMZ separating North and South Korea.
Republican House candidate and former Army pilot Tom Barrett is seen in a still in a campaign ad. (Tom Barrett Campaign)
Barrett pointed to her military career amid her calls to secure the border.
Early voting begins in Illinois, North Dakota, Florida and Michigan
“I spent a year of my life deployed to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, during Operation Enduring Freedom, where there were terrorists that we were keeping safe in that facility. And they told us, right to our faces, that they wanted to come to America and I believe in the Americans we want to kill. We have hundreds of people on our terrorist watch list that we know we have to remove. He said, “We will not allow any more terrorists to enter our country.”
Barrett has the lead in his race against Hertel, but insists he’s not taking anything for granted
“I think President Trump is very well positioned to win Michigan. We know this will be a very close race and we can’t take it lightly at all. The Seventh Congressional District in Michigan, where I’m running is also highly competitive and we also have a very competitive United States Senate race in Michigan,” he said.
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“It’s really Are going to decide the direction of our country. And we could end up on the same failed path we are already on, with high costs of living and groceries that are unaffordable for families, and mortgage rates that prevent a young couple from starting their own family. Does not allow. Or we can turn the corner. Secure our border. Get our cost of living under control, get crime under control, get our foreign adversaries back where they belong, and really forge a new path forward for America.”
