Trump will reportedly skip second GOP primary debate and deliver speech in Detroit

 Former President Donald Trump will reportedly visit Detroit, Michigan, next week on the same day that the second GOP presidential primary debate is slated to take place.

Some UAW union members with Ford, GM, and Stellantis have recently gone on strike, and UAW president Shawn Fain has warned that if significant progress is not made by noon on September 22, more will be called upon to strike. 

The New York Times, citing two Trump advisers, reported that the former president plans to head to Detroit on the date of the upcoming GOP primary debate. Trump will speak to current and former union members, the outlet reported. Trump's campaign plans to have plumbers, pipefitters, electricians, and autoworkers in attendance, according one of the Trump advisers, the Times reported.

"Every fiber of our union is being poured into fighting the billionaire class and an economy that enriches people like Donald Trump at the expense of workers," Fain declared in a statement. "We can't keep electing billionaires and millionaires that don't have any understanding what it is like to live paycheck to paycheck and struggle to get by and expecting them to solve the problems of the working class." 

The second GOP primary debate will be held in California next week. Ahead of the first debate last month, Trump declared that he would not participate in the GOP primary debates. On the night of the first debate, Tucker Carlson released an interview of Trump on X, the social media platform previously known as Twitter. 

Trump has successfully maintained a massive lead over the rest of the Republican primary field, and he appears to be on track to easily clinch the party's 2024 presidential nomination.