In Context: What Trump said about a ‘bloodbath’ and Biden’s actions on the car industry

The word du jour in the 2024 presidential campaign is "bloodbath" — specifically, what former President Donald Trump did or didn't mean when he used the term at a March 16 Ohio rally.

President Joe Biden’s campaign team plucked a nine-second clip of Trump saying, "If I don't get elected, it’s gonna be a bloodbath for the whole, that’s going to be the least of it. It’s going to be a bloodbath for the country, that'll be the least of it" and framed it as violent rhetoric.

The Biden campaign posted March 16 on X: "Donald Trump said there would be a ‘bloodbath’ if he wasn’t elected and that if he lost there would be no more elections." The next day, Biden’s account shared on X the "bloodbath" clip and wrote, "It’s clear this guy wants another January 6."

Without context, some voters could assume that Trump’s "bloodbath" remarks were predicting violence by his supporters should he lose at the polls. On Truth Social, Trump responded March 18 that the media and Democrats "pretended to be shocked at my use of the word BLOODBATH, even though they fully understood that I was simply referring to imports" allowed by Biden "which are killing the automobile industry."

Politicians, pundits and social media users debated Trump’s "bloodbath" remark in the days following the speech. Some major news outlets including The New York Times, ABC and The Associated Press wrote that Trump warned of a "bloodbath" in headlines without the auto industry context. Although the text of the articles explained the context, when headlines alone are shared on social media, it doesn’t tell the full story.

The Biden campaign told PolitiFact the term needed to be considered alongside Trump’s other rhetoric in this speech, pointing to Trump’s comments about people imprisoned after the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack. More than 1,350 defendants have been charged in the attack, including hundreds for assaulting police officers or using deadly weapons. Trump called them "hostages," even though they are being given due process — something that former Vice President Mike Pence and former Trump aide Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., also pointed out in March 17 Sunday shows. 

Given the focus on Trump’s rally, we wanted to provide full context for the "bloodbath" remark and his comments about not having elections if he loses and the Jan. 6 defendants.

Trump spoke for more than 90 minutes in Vandalia, Ohio, days before the state’s March 19 U.S. Senate primary. Trump endorsed businessman Bernie Moreno in the Republican contest.

About 28 minutes into the speech, Trump talked about Biden’s plans for electric vehicles harming the U.S. auto industry. The Biden administration has set a goal to have electric vehicles comprise half of all new vehicle sales by 2030 and offered significant aid to the U.S. auto sector to keep it competitive in the electric vehicle marketplace. Recent news reports, based on unnamed sources, have said Biden is poised to relax elements of his plan.

The relevant portion of Trump’s remarks (around minute 33 in this video) started with a critique of the United Auto Workers union, which endorsed Biden in this year’s election: 

"But if you look at the United Auto Workers, what they've done to their people is horrible. They want to do this all-electric nonsense where the cars don't go far. They cost too much. And they’re all made in China. And the head of the United Auto Workers never probably shook hands with a Republican before they're destroying — you know, Mexico has taken, over a period of 30 years, 34% of the automobile manufacturing business in our country, think of it, went to Mexico. 

"China now is building a couple of massive plants, where they're going to build the cars in Mexico and … they think that they're going to sell those cars into the United States with no tax at the border. Let me tell you something to China. If you're listening, President Xi, and you and I are friends, but he understands the way I deal, those big, monster car manufacturing plants that you're building in Mexico right now, and you think you're going to get that, you're going to not hire Americans, and you're going to sell the cars to us, no. We're going to put a 100% tariff on every single car that comes across the line, and you're not going to be able to sell those cars.

"If I get elected. Now, if I don't get elected, it's gonna be a bloodbath for the whole, that's going to be the least of it. It's going to be a bloodbath for the country. That'll be the least of it. But they're not gonna sell those cars."

Trump went on to talk about cars being manufactured in Mexico and his promise to institute "100% tariffs" on cars manufactured outside the United States. 

About 20 minutes later, Trump turned his comments to stopping "Joe Biden and his thugs." 

"We're the only ones, and they know this, that could stop them. We’re the only ones, there's nobody else around. If this election, if this election isn’t won, I'm not sure that you'll ever have another election in this country. Does that make sense? I don't think you're going to have another election in this country if we don't win this election. I don't think you're going to have another election or certainly not an election that's meaningful." 

Along with his warnings about elections, Trump also repeated his support for the Jan. 6 defendants, a signature talking point at his rallies.  

Before Trump spoke at the Ohio rally, an announcer said, "Please rise for the horribly and unfairly treated January 6 hostages." The crowd then heard a recording of the "The Star Spangled Banner" performed by the J6 Prison Choir, men jailed for their actions during the Capitol riot. 

Trump saluted and then said at the rally, "Thank you very much, and you see the spirit from the hostages and that's what they are as hostages. They've been treated terribly and very unfairly and you know that and everybody knows that. And we're going to be working on that soon. The first day we get into office we are going to save our country and we are going to work with the people to treat those unbelievable patriots, and they were unbelievable patriots and are."

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