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That newfound enthusiasm for Trump’s policies comes as GM recently unveiled a $4 billion plan to boost production in U.S. facilities over the next two years, focusing on both gas-powered and electric vehicles.
But the timing reeks of political desperation.
The Record Barra Can’t Escape
For many conservatives, Barra’s grand gestures fall flat in the face of her track record. Under her watch, GM ramped up operations in Mexico and China, even as American facilities went dark.
Trump himself called her out publicly.
“Very disappointed with General Motors and their CEO, Mary Barra, for closing plants in Ohio, Michigan and Maryland,” Trump posted on social media. “Nothing being closed in Mexico & China. The U.S. saved General Motors, and this is the THANKS we get!”
Numbers confirm the magnitude of GM’s pivot away from American workers. Reports indicate GM imported more foreign-made vehicles into the U.S. last year than any other automaker — surpassing even long-time import rivals from Japan. Nearly half of GM vehicles sold on American soil in 2024 were built overseas.
Meanwhile, GM has risen to become the largest vehicle producer in Mexico.
And GM’s cars have grown less American-made under Barra’s tenure, slipping 12 points in rankings tracked by the American University.
Conservative Economists Sound the Alarm
Free-market voices are slamming Barra for trying to curry favor with the Trump administration while continuing policies that undermine American workers.
“This is a classic example of a big corporation cozying up to a political office holder to garner influence,” said Heritage Foundation Chief Economist EJ Antoni to FOX Business. “Instead of making vehicles people actually want, for a price they can afford, with American labor and American materials, GM has failed on all four counts, all because it was banking on Democrats forcing consumers into EVs.”
Antoni warned that Barra’s strategy has been a disaster. Rather than focusing on vehicles Americans are eager to buy, GM went all-in on electric cars — and watched the market crumble beneath it.
“GM foolishly went all-in on the transition to electric vehicles, and that bet hasn’t paid out,” Antoni said. “When you look at political donations, GM and its affiliates have been giving much more money to Democrats, including Kamala Harris, than Republicans—another bet that hasn’t paid out.”
The Fallout from the EV Gamble
GM’s love affair with electric vehicles has come at a steep price. The company’s workforce under the United Auto Workers has shrunk considerably under Barra’s leadership, costing tens of thousands of good-paying American jobs.
Despite other automakers easing off aggressive EV targets and pivoting back to hybrids and gas-powered cars, Barra has stayed the course — even as consumers balk at buying pricey electric vehicles.
“Not only was GM on the wrong side of politics, but on the wrong side of consumer preferences,” Antoni explained. “Put simply, people don’t want the electric vehicles GM makes, at least not in the numbers they’ve been produced.”
“The only way GM would’ve been able to push such cars on consumers would be if the government forced it. Without the strongarm of the state, however, GM stands to lose big time out on its wrongheaded bet that Democrats would shove the green new scam down everyone’s throats.”
Too Little, Too Late?
Republican insiders aren’t buying Barra’s sudden “America First” messaging. One senior GOP operative summed it up bluntly for FOX Business:
“GM is just the latest of companies to play the America First card, while shipping jobs and production overseas. President Trump has been the single greatest job creator this country has ever seen.”
In the end, Mary Barra’s $4 billion pledge to invest in U.S. manufacturing looks like damage control rather than genuine change. Her sudden praise for Trump’s policies can’t erase years of offshoring American jobs and donating heavily to Democrat candidates.
As Antoni put it, GM will “need to do more than pay lip service to President Trump’s agenda if it wants to turn the corner from this misguided bet on EVs.”
For now, American workers and conservative voters remain skeptical that Barra’s new tune is anything more than a desperate bid for political survival. After a decade of prioritizing global expansion over American jobs, Mary Barra finds herself on the wrong side of the America First movement — and scrambling to avoid the fallout.
