Joe Scarborough, the MSNBC host, recently removed a social media post criticizing former President Donald Trump’s use of the term “bloodbath” after a direct response from Elon Musk.
In a rally held in Ohio on a Saturday, Trump warned of a “bloodbath” for the nation, criticizing the offshoring of auto industry jobs to other countries during the Biden administration. Musk engaged with Scarborough following his post, which included footage from the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021, on the platform X.
In the deleted post, Scarborough had remarked, “Donald Trump’s America. And he’s proud of it. Promised another ‘bloodbath’ if he loses again.” Musk countered this by stating, “Jan 6 was not a ‘bloodbath’ by any definition and Trump was referring to job losses in the auto industry when he used that word. Your post is extremely misleading.”
This exchange led to Scarborough deleting his post, a move that was quickly highlighted and mocked on social media.
Trump’s comment about a “bloodbath” was actually a reference to the potential economic repercussions of President Joe Biden’s electric vehicle (EV) policies, which he argued benefit countries like Mexico and China at the expense of the United States. Trump detailed how Mexico has significantly increased its share of the automobile manufacturing business over the past thirty years and criticized China for planning to build massive car manufacturing plants in Mexico, intending to sell those cars in the U.S. without facing any tariffs.
Trump threatened to impose a 100% tariff on every car that crosses the border from Mexico to the U.S. if he were elected, aiming to protect American jobs and manufacturing.
The former president’s remarks also touched on concerns among autoworkers, particularly those represented by the United Auto Workers (UAW) union, who fear that Biden’s push for EVs could lead to significant job losses. Despite Biden’s emphasis on union support as a cornerstone of his campaign and presidency, his advocacy for electric vehicles has created tension with union workers. Biden has set a goal for half of all new car sales in the U.S. to be electric by 2030, a move that has raised concerns about the future of traditional auto jobs.