Fact check: Biden hits and misses with Trump and Foxconn claims

As the rematch between Joe Biden and Donald Trump heats up, the Biden campaign is tying Trump to Wisconsin’s infamous Foxconn deal.

"The Trump administration handed out taxpayer dollars to a foreign company. Hundreds of homes and farms were bulldozed, and over $500 million in taxpayer dollars were wasted preparing for Foxconn," according to a May 16, 2024, Biden-Harris campaign news release.

The statement was made a little more than a week after Biden was at Gateway Technical College’s Integrated Manufacturing and Engineering Technology Center in Racine County, along with Microsoft President Brad Smith and Gov. Tony Evers to announce a $3.3 billion Microsoft data center.

Biden, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported, said the Microsoft development is a "comeback story," playing out across Wisconsin and the nation. The president said the Microsoft plan stands in contrast to the 2017 efforts of Trump and state Republican officials that brought bring Foxconn to Mount Pleasant.

Microsoft is building its data center on land that Foxconn was initially expected to use for a $10 billion LCD manufacturing plant that Trump touted as the "eighth wonder of the world." But the investment did not fully happen and neither did the 13,000 jobs Foxconn initially promised.

"Foxconn turned out to be just that," Biden said at Gateway. "A con."

When we asked the Biden campaign to provide backup for the claim, the campaign essentially restated what was originally said. That’s rhetoric, not evidence. Since so much has been written about Foxconn, we started with various reports and news accounts.

Did Trump hand out "taxpayer dollars to a foreign company?"

The answer to this is a swift “no.”

The original 2017 Foxconn deal called for Wisconsin to provide the firm with nearly $3 billion in tax credits if it created 13,000 jobs at a $10 billion state-of-the art factory for the production of  LCDs — flat screens used in televisions and other electronics.

However, the company scaled back its plans and under Evers, the incentive package was changed to reflect the smaller scope. In 2021, the tax credits were slashed from $2.85 billion to $80 million. The job benchmark fell from 13,000 statewide to 1,454.  And the number for Foxconn’s capital investment went from $10 billion to $672.8 million.

In any case, it was state money – not federal money – that was granted to the company.

That said, then-President Trump was certainly center stage in June 2018, along with then-Gov. Scott Walker, then-U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan, and Foxconn chairman Terry Gou, all wielding gold-colored shovels at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Foxconn Technology Group facility in Mount Pleasant.

RELATED POLITIFACT: Gov. Tony Evers doesn’t tell whole story with claim that new Foxconn deal saves taxpayers $2.77B 

RELATED POLITIFACT: Yes, Foxconn is the largest taxpayer in Racine County 

Were "hundreds of homes and farms" bulldozed?

While hundreds of residents were moved out to clear the way for the Foxconn campus, the number of homes and farms has been variously put at between 100 and 132 by different media reports.

A Mount Pleasant village spokesman said officials worked to secure voluntary agreements with owners of about 130 parcels. But other owners said the village threatened eminent domain, claiming their properties were needed for road improvements.

According to a 2019 report, the Village of Mount Pleasant by June of that year had paid just over $152 million for 132 properties to clear the way for Foxconn, plus an additional $7.9 million in relocation costs, according to village records obtained by Wisconsin Public Radio and analyzed by Wisconsin Watch.

So, the second part of the claim is somewhat off the mark, in that it referred to homes being bulldozed, when it would have been more accurate to say hundreds of residents relocated.

In fact, when the Biden campaign itself responded to us, their quote cited “hundreds of residents,” not homes.

Was "over $500 million in taxpayer dollars ... wasted preparing for Foxconn?"

According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Wisconsin taxpayers were on the hook for at least $583 million preparing for the Foxconn project.

If you add in the $257 million from the pockets of American Transmission Company’s Wisconsin electric ratepayers -- for new lines and a substation – the total rises to $840 million. But was that money wasted?

Mount Pleasant Community Development Director Sam Schultz said the village's investment in the industrial park, when it was created for Foxconn, helped attract Microsoft and made it possible to move quickly after the company began to buy land, according to a May 14, 2024 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article.

"We benefited from the work that had been done before, the ability to start to acquire large amounts of land and things like a (electrical) substation that exists there already," he said.

So, saying that “$500 million in taxpayer dollars were wasted preparing for Foxconn" is a bit muddy at best.

Our ruling

Biden claimed "The Trump administration handed out taxpayer dollars to a foreign company. Hundreds of homes and farms were bulldozed, and over $500 million in taxpayer dollars were wasted preparing for Foxconn."

The first part of the claim is off. The Trump administration didn’t pay – state and local taxpayers did. The second part is an overreach – in terms of houses, the number is between 100 and 130, though there may have been hundreds of residents living in those homes.

Finally, while it’s true that over $500 million was spent on preparing for Foxconn, local officials say the preparation that went into Foxconn is now being put to use for the Microsoft development.

Our definition of Half True is a statement that is partially accurate but leaves out important details or takes things out of context.

That fits here.

Sources

Brianna Johnson, Biden-Harris Wisconsin communications director, “Statement on Donald Trump’s lies on failed Foxconn deal,” May 16, 2024

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel “Donald Trump touts trade and defends tariffs as he oversees groundbreaking of Foxconn in Wisconsin,” June 28, 2018

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel “Spurred by Foxconn, widening I-94 to eight lanes through Racine County will begin in 2019,” Oct. 12, 2017

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel “Democrats launch billboards in Milwaukee after Trump says it's a 'horrible city,'” June 14, 2024.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel “ 'I love Milwaukee': Takeaways from Donald Trump's Wisconsin campaign rally,” June 18, 2024

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel “Microsoft's growth could top $10 billion. Mount Pleasant had site ready for failed Foxconn,” May 14, 2024

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel “President Biden touts Microsoft's Racine County 'comeback project,' contrasts it with Foxconn failure,” May 8, 2024

The White House “President Biden to Highlight $3.3 Billion Investment in Racine, Wisconsin, and How His Investing in America Agenda is Driving Economic Comebacks in Communities Across the Country,” May 8, 2024

The Washington Post “Biden touts Microsoft AI center on site of Trump’s failed Foxconn deal,” May 8, 2024

Email, Brianna Johnson, Biden-Harris 2024 Wisconsin communications director,  June 6, 2024

Email, spokesperson, Village of Mount Pleasant, June 5, 2024

 “Microsoft announces $3.3 billion investment in Wisconsin to spur artificial intelligence innovation and economic growth,” May 8, 2024Wisconsin Watch “Property owners near Foxconn say they were misled. Now their homes are gone.” Sept. 3, 2019

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Biden campaign hits and misses with Trump and Foxconn claims