Former President Donald Trump speaks during a commit to caucus rally, Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2023, in Maquoketa, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Former President Donald Trump’s campaign confirmed that he will not be attending next week’s Republican debate, instead opting to meet with striking Michigan auto workers, despite his long opposition to unions and labor rights.

In a Truth Social post on Monday, Trump wrote, “The United Autoworkers are being sold down the ‘drain’ with this Electric Car SCAM.”

But during his time in office, Trump signed a series of executive orders that weakened unions, the results of which made it easier to fire federal employees and made it harder for federal workers to organize. The Trump administration also proposed changes to the U.S. Postal Service that included eliminating collective bargaining over wages for Postal Service employees.

The United Auto Workers Union President Shawn Fain denounced Trump ahead of his visit to Detroit, and he urged voters to stop supporting candidates like him.

“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 said 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 problems of the working class.”

During an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that aired last Sunday, Trump said Fain is selling out his union and that he should endorse Trump for president in 2024.

As president, Trump also put several anti-labor officials in positions of power, including former Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia, who routinely defended companies that were accused of violating labor laws. He also appointed Peter Robb as the general counsel to the National Labor Relations Board, where he worked to undermine the rights of millions of workers. Robb recommended classifying Uber drivers as contractors instead of employees, which would remove their federal labor protections. Robb was later fired after President Joe Biden took office.

In addition to governing against organized labor, Trump publicly criticized unions and labeled them “dues-sucking people” who “couldn’t care less about their members.” Trump also said that low wages are an “advantage,” and his administration pulled back Obama-era protections for women and LGTBQ workers.

In 2015, Trump campaigned on not allowing automobile plants to close, but thousands of workers in the industry found themselves out of a job under his administration after the Lordstown, Ohio General Motors plant shut down in 2019. Trump also said he would not have bailed out the auto industry in 2008, which would have left thousands of people in poverty.

Michigan Reps. Debbie Dingell (D) and Haley Stevens (D) held a virtual press conference Tuesday denouncing Trump’s involvement and attempt to portray himself as an ally to working class people.

“He pledged that the United States wouldn’t lose a single auto plant under his watch, and then families in my district were forced to watch as General Motors shuddered the Lordstown plant and auto companies across the country laid off workers by the thousands,” Dingell said. “And this shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. He himself admitted that he would have let the auto industry go under, which would have led to massive amounts of job loss and destroyed Detroit in the process.”

This is the second time Trump will be skipping a Republican debate this year after conducting a bizarre interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson during the Milwaukee debate last month.