MADISON, Wis. — While speaking at a Lake Country Patriots meeting last night, Tim Michels came out in support of Scott Walker and Rebecca Kleefisch’s disastrous Foxconn deal, saying that if he’s elected governor, he’s “going to try and put that Foxconn deal back together.”
Michels’ support for the Walker-Kleefisch Foxconn deal could potentially put the state back on the line for billions in taxpayer-funded handouts, years after the company failed to meet its obligations to the state despite a record-breaking $3 billion in subsidies from Wisconsin taxpayers.
TIM MICHELS: “I don’t know if I’ll be able to get it done at Foxconn, but I’ll tell you what, the taxpayers in Wisconsin, they deserve to have a governor at least try. [. . .] I’m going to try and put that Foxconn deal back together. I’m not going to give the state away. I’m not gonna give anything away, but if we can make that work, I believe there’s some potential there.”
While Michels pretends to be an outsider, his ties to the Foxconn disaster run deep. Michels’ company completed a “significant amount of work” on the site preparation for Foxconn’s Mount Pleasant facility, and Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, whose board Michels later joined, led the initial lobbying efforts for Foxconn. Does Michels want to resurrect the Walker-Kleefisch deal because it will benefit his company?
Governor Tony Evers renegotiated the failed Walker-Kleefisch agreement with Foxconn and clawed back tax breaks from the foreign corporation, saving taxpayers nearly $3 billion while creating jobs and protecting local investments.
Gov. Evers’ agreement treats Foxconn like any other business and is saving taxpayers $2.77 billion, protecting the hundreds of millions of dollars in infrastructure investments the state and local communities have already made, and ensuring there’s accountability for Foxconn creating the jobs it has promised.
“Tim Michels might have missed the news while living in Connecticut, but Governor Evers has already renegotiated the Foxconn deal and saved taxpayers nearly $3 billion,” said Democratic Party of Wisconsin Communications Director Iris Riis. “Michels’ support for the failed Walker-Kleefisch deal could potentially put the state back on the line for billions in taxpayer-funded handouts, which is the last thing Wisconsinites need right now.”
