Trump administration attacks BMW and Mercedes in SC. Will our leaders stand up? | Opinion
BMW is as close to business royalty as a company can get in South Carolina. And that’s for good reason, even beyond its $14.8 billion investment in the state since 1992 and 11,000 jobs.
But the Trump administration believes it is bad for the United States.
The BMW plant is in the Upstate, but South Carolinians everywhere value it. Those of us who grew up in the Lowcountry are more likely to want a tour of the manufacturing plant when visiting friends in Spartanburg and Greenville than to sightsee other attractions in the area.
We’re jealous that the German carmaker decided to set up shop there instead of in Berkeley County where I grew up. Or in Georgetown, which is now suffering through a painful economic transformation with the shuttering of long-time mainstay International Paper Company. We’re jealous, but we understand that access to interstate highways in Spartanburg made it an ideal location. We’re proud, even, that South Carolina has been home to such an important international company for such a long time.
I’ve heard people say plenty of good things about BMW, unprompted, without one bad word.
But that means nothing to White House trade advisor Peter Navarro.
“This business model where BMW and Mercedes come into Spartansburg, South Carolina, [sic] and have us assemble German engines and Austrian transmissions, that doesn’t work for America,” Navarro told CNBC on Sunday. “It’s bad for our economics. It’s bad for our national security.”
Navarro was so dismissive of the Palmetto State, he couldn’t even bother to get basic details right. The Mercedes-Benz plant is in Charleston County not 200 miles away in Spartanburg County, which Navarro referred to as “Spartansburg.”
My guess is the Mercedes-Benz plant will eventually become as beloved as BMW. It hasn’t yet because it has only been here a little less than two decades. Then again, Mercedes may not be able to remain in South Carolina much longer.
The Trump administration seems not to mind targeting major South Carolina employers like BMW and Mercedes-Benz with idiotic tariffs that have ignited an unnecessary trade war, crashed markets, shrunk 401(k) accounts and jeopardized the overall economy. Despite its focus on economic fixes, the Trump administration also seems not to care about the more than 1 million South Carolinians who have voted for Donald Trump in three consecutive presidential elections.
So far, the state’s top leaders have avoided pushing back against the Trump administration, leaving it to local leaders like Spartanburg County Councilman David Britt, OneSpartanburg Inc. and the Greenville Chamber of Commerce to set the record straight.
Gov. Henry McMaster did not immediately say anything when reporters asked an aide for comment as Navarro’s comments circulated. Sen. Tim Scott also did not respond when reporters asked his office for comment, even though in 2019 he warned of risks of tariffs.
Tuesday, Sen. Lindsey Graham tweeted words that essentially meant nothing, given what’s at stake. Below a pinned March 26 tweet touting Trump’s endorsement of Graham’s reelection bid was this lukewarm nothingness: “BMW has been in South Carolina for over 30 years and has proven to be one of the best corporate citizens in our state. Their presence is a major benefit to the South Carolina economy and it is much appreciated.”
Rep. Nancy Mace, who wants to be South Carolina’s next governor and is quick to tweet about transgender people she doesn’t know having the temerity to live their lives, took even less of a stand than Graham.
Wednesday morning, she tweeted, “President Trump has brought lower prices at the pump, lowered inflation, created hundreds of thousands of new jobs, and got trillions in foreign investment pouring into our economy. Meanwhile the Left has decided they are self-proclaimed economists. Give me a break.”
All of them would have rushed to a TV camera to get their face before a national audience to scream and shout and cuss and fuss about the disrespect being shown everyday hard-working Americans in South Carolina had a Democrat launched a full-frontal assault on our way of life. But Dear Leader Trump mustn’t be challenged, even if his administration is openly talking about destroying the state’s economy.
What’s worse is that South Carolinians kept voting for Trump even after he said this during the 2024 election cycle: “(T)hey build everything in Germany, and then they assemble it here. They get away with murder because they say, ‘Oh, yes, we’re building cars.’ They don’t build cars. They take them out of a box and they assemble them. We could have our child do it.”
If our most prominent and powerful leaders are willing to sacrifice BMW on the altar of Trump, what chance do the rest of us have?
This story was originally published April 9, 2025 at 1:19 PM.