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Trump says GM should use sold Lordstown plant to make ventilators

By Mahoning Matters staff and Justin Dennis
The Lordstown Motors Corp. put their stamp on the old GM Lordstown facility with the addition of this new sign on Tuesday, Dec. 17. (William Lewis)
The Lordstown Motors Corp. put their stamp on the old GM Lordstown facility with the addition of this new sign on Tuesday, Dec. 17. (William Lewis)

WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Donald Trump this morning tweeted that General Motors should re-open its former Lordstown plant in order to make ventilators to treat the new coronavirus, or COVID-19.

GM sold the plant in November to Lordstown Motors Corp., which intends to manufacture a line of electric fleet pickup trucks.

See Trump's tweet below:

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Tuesday hospitals in his state would need an additional 30,000 to 40,000 ventilators to treat the number of new coronavirus patients expected when the virus hits its peak in the coming weeks.

President Trump told Fox News Thursday he doubted whether that number of ventilators was necessary.

Currently, the state has about 12,000.

Mahoning Matters has reached out to a General Motors spokesperson for comment on whether automakers have the capability to repurpose manufacturing space to make medical equipment.

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown of Cleveland, D-Ohio, later corrected President Trump on Twitter, and asked why the administration has not yet invoked wartime manufacturing powers through the Defense Production Act of 1950.

This story was originally published March 27, 2020 at 11:36 AM with the headline "Trump says GM should use sold Lordstown plant to make ventilators."