“We could let our child do that.”

Donald Trump suggested on Tuesday that children could take over the jobs of auto factory workers while delivering a head-scratching remark to the Economic Club of Chicago.

Trump, 78, appeared to oversimplify the way international auto companies prepare their vehicles for sale, saying they ship parts to states where American workers merely “take them out of the box” and would have to assemble.

“We could get our kid to do it,” Trump said before a moderator interrupted him.

The former president specifically called out Mercedes-Benz when he briefly commented on his well-documented and oft-discussed preference for tariffs.

Trump said he would increase tariffs on automakers that do not produce their vehicles entirely in the United States. He suggested that this tax increase on foreign-made parts would encourage automakers to build more factories, hire more Americans and assemble their vehicles entirely in the United States.

“We have deficits that are crazy,” Trump said. “We won’t have much more. We’re going to put tariffs on them, and they’re going to do it – and you know what they can do? Mercedes Benz will begin construction in the United States.”

Despite Trump’s repeated comments, many American economists have warned that an increase in tariffs will likely lead to higher prices for consumers.

Kamala Harris’ campaign immediately addressed Trump’s comments on Tuesday, releasing a clip of the comment and claiming he disparaged workers in the auto industry.

Trump’s comments are unlikely to resonate in Michigan, a swing state that was home to 41,500 people in the auto industry in 2001.

The comments come less than a week after Trump attacked the city of Detroit during his campaign, telling a rally crowd: “Our whole country is going to end up like Detroit if she’s your president.” You’re going to have a mess on your hands. “

Things were already difficult between Trump and auto industry workers. The United Auto Workers union filed a lawsuit in August against Trump and Elon Musk over comments they made about intimidating workers who wanted to strike or organize during a livestream on X.

“When we say Donald Trump is a scab, that’s exactly what we mean,” UAW President Shawn Fain said in a news release. “When we say Trump stands against everything our union stands for, we mean it.”