Historic moment or political divide? UAW workers weigh in on Biden and Trump

Outside the Ford assembly plant in Wayne, Mich., a rumor floated among United Auto Workers picketing Tuesday morning: President Joe Biden would be visiting the factory.

“That’s the last guy I want to see,” shouted one striker in the group.

But Tameka Ellis, a UAW member who normally works assembling robotic parts, felt differently. She welcomed a visit by the president and said she felt “very excited” about its potential.

“I want to hear what he has to say. I think it will boost employee morale," she said.

Biden didn’t make it to Wayne. Instead, he appeared a stone’s throw away in Belleville, Mich., at GM’s Willow Run Redistribution Center, where he became the first sitting president to join a picket line.

Standing next to him was UAW president Shawn Fain, who, despite his public frustration with Biden over the past few weeks, offered nothing but praise on this “historic” occasion.

“Today I want to just take a moment to stand with all of you, with our president, and say thank you to the president. Thank you, Mr. President, for coming,” he said after Biden briefly addressed the crowd.

“Thank you for coming to stand up with us in our generation’s defining moment. And we know the president will do right by the working class.”

At the Wayne assembly plant, which sits along a congested street and right across the UAW building, not all picketing strikers spoke as highly of Biden.

Cameron White, who worked at the plant for three years, said he “made more money when Trump was president. It was a lot easier.”

Former President Donald Trump will get his chance to address White and other strikers when he visits Michigan on Wednesday, instead of attending the Republican primary debate in California.

Tiffany Karr said she didn’t want to pick sides — at least publicly.

"I think any exposure to our cause is good exposure and that's about as far as I go on that. I want to be more positive about what is happening,” she said.