Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump, speaks at the Detroit Economic Club on October 10, 2024 in Detroit, Michigan. Trump is campaigning in Michigan, a key battleground state, ahead of the upcoming presidential election. | Bill Pugliano/Getty Images
As GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump was poised to hold a rally in Detroit on Friday, Democrats launched efforts to push back against the former president.
Vice President Kamala Harris, who is Black and Asian American, faces Trump on Nov. 5. She last visited the Motor City on Tuesday and is slated to be back on Saturday.
The Rev. Wendell Anthony and U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris in 2019 | Andrew Roth
Michigan is considered a top battleground state. Trump won Michigan by under 11,000 votes in 2016 over Democratic nominee Hilary Clinton. President Joe Biden beat Trump in Michigan by over 150,000 votes in 2020.
“It seems every time he gets the opportunity to take a dig at predominantly Black cities he charges forth,” said the Rev. Wendell Anthony, who is African American and the pastor of Fellowship Chapel in Detroit, on Thursday. He has called Detroit dirty and corrupt along with Atlanta, Baltimore, Oakland, Milwaukee, and Philadelphia, even while he is on trial in New York facing felony charges.”
State Sen. Sylvia Santana (D-Detroit), who also is African American, blasted Trump for lying about widespread voter fraud in Detroit during the 2020 election.
“Four years ago, Trump and allies tried to disenfranchise the voters of Detroit and Wayne County to overturn a free and fair election. And now he has the audacity to disrespect our city? This election, Detroit will show Trump how strong we are when we send Kamala Harris to the White House,” Santana said.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s Fight Like Hell PAC on Thursday announced the launch of a six-figure radio advertisement campaign targeting Donald Trump for his recent remarks bashing the city of Detroit. During his remarks during a Detroit Economic Club event on Oct. 10 that if Harris were elected, the whole country “will end up being like Detroit.”
“Donald Trump recently came to Detroit and talked trash about our city. He called Detroit a failure and a mess. We know he’s wrong. Detroiters don’t give up on each other or their city, something Donald Trump will never understand,” Whitmer, a Democrat, reads in the ad.
Meanwhile, the Democratic National Committee launched a mobile billboard to circle his rally at Detroit’s Huntington Place Convention Center after Trump blasted Michigan’s largest city in recent days.
Stephanie Justice, a Democratic National Committee spokesperson, released the following statement:
“Simply put: it’s Detroit vs. Donald Trump. And like this election, Trump will lose. Detroit’s story is one of resilience and strength, and while Trump has the audacity to insult it, Michiganders will return the favor at the ballot box. Voters in Detroit and across Michigan have already proven that they’re tired of Trump – overwhelmingly rejecting him in 2020 after he failed their auto industry and left working families behind. They’re ready to stop his attacks on their home for good by sending Vice President Kamala Harris and Governor Tim Walz to the White House in November.”
Meanwhile, thousands lined up for Trump’s rally at Huntington Place starting in the morning.
Christina Kincaid of Flint arrived early to Donald Trump’s Detroit rally. | Ken Coleman
Christina Kincaid of Flint arrived at Huntington Place early on Friday. In an interview around noon — hours before Trump’s rally was set to begin at 7 p.m., she told the Advance that she will vote for the former president.
“He [Trump] wants to help the hard-working people in America and keep our country strong,” Kincaid said.
Clarissa Woodson, an African American who resides in Plymouth, planned to attend the rally. She backs the former president.
“Trump is an Alpha male. He’s a die-hard man and I love him. He’s a male’s male,” Woodson said.
The Michigan Republican Party also issued a statement on Friday.
“Michigan will prove itself to be Trump Country when it votes for a return to the peace, prosperity, and stability of the first Trump presidency in November,” Trump Michigan Communications Director Victoria LaCivita said.
Trump campaign flags hoisted outside of Detroit’s Huntington Place in Detroit | Ken Coleman
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