Trump said the SUVs were ordered because staff "like the Escalade" and "look sharp" in motorcades; armored versions can top $300,000 each, well above the model's $90,000 sticker price.
The announcement landed as gas prices have risen nearly $1 a gallon since Trump took office, mortgage rates hit their highest level in almost a year, and one economist put the Iran war's cost to households above $1,200.
Michigan remarks meant to highlight U.S. auto manufacturing instead veered into attacks on Democrats, transgender rights and a repeated, unsubstantiated claim that Trump was once named Michigan's "man of the year."