Trump catches heat after insulting Detroit during speech – in Detroit

They say ignorance is bliss, and it seemed as if former President Donald Trump forgot where he was on Thursday when he indirectly insulted the city of Detroit while giving a speech at the Detroit Economic Forum.

“The whole country will be like … you want to know the truth? It’ll be like Detroit,” Trump said at the podium as he railed against his Democratic presidential opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris. “Our whole country will end up being like Detroit if she’s your president … We’re not going to let her do that to this country. We’re not gonna let it happen.”

In trying to insult Harris — suggesting she would run Detroit into the ground — Trump ruffled feathers with Detroit residents, including the city’s mayor.

“Detroit just hosted the largest NFL Draft in history, the Tigers are back in the playoffs, the Lions are headed to the Super Bowl, crime is down and our population is growing,” Mayor Mike Duggan tweeted. “Lots of cities should be like Detroit. And we did it all without Trump’s help.”

Trump’s implication that Detroit was a place the United States wouldn’t want to be like can’t be taken out of historical context.

Detroit has been and continues to be a majority Black city. It’s the birthplace of Motown and had a key role in the Civil Rights Movement.

The city has struggled with a host of challenges in past decades, from political scandals with its former mayor, Kwame Kilpatrick, to filing for bankruptcy in 2013. Detroit has also seen remarkable progress in recent years.

A wave of new developments, downtown revitalization, and a boom in the arts and culture scene have signaled rebirth. Meanwhile, the population has grown for the first time in decades.

“Detroit is a city of innovation and heart. We are survivors and have always fought for what we believe in,” Marseille Allen, a political consultant from Detroit, told theGrio. Allen continued, “Dr. King wrote ‘I Have a Dream’ at Solidarity House … in Detroit. We are a city of dreams, which are now coming true. And we will continue to dream and continue to thrive.”

Allen said of Trump, “If the man who aligns himself with dictators thinks poorly of my city, the grittiest city in our nation, then we are clearly on the right track.”

She said she “wholeheartedly” agreed with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer — whom she described as “Big Gretch, the best governor in the land” — telling Trump to “keep my city out of your mouth.”

Trump’s almost two-hour speech at the Detroit Economic Forum on Thursday boasted about improving auto production and making car ownership more affordable by allowing people to claim interest on car loans as a tax deduction.

If re-elected, Trump has vowed to impose tariffs on U.S. imports, which numerous economists have warned could increase inflation and add an estimated $15 trillion to the national debt.

Vice President Harris slammed Trump over his comments about Detroit during a Thursday rally in Las Vegas.

“My opponent Donald Trump yet again has trashed another great American city when he was in Detroit, which is just a further piece of evidence on a very long list of why he is unfit to be President of the United States,” said Harris.

The Harris-Walz campaign noted in a press release that under Trump’s leadership, Michigan lost over 280,000 jobs “as he gave tax incentives to companies to ship jobs overseas.” By contrast, the campaign said Harris has pledged to “fight for working families in Detroit and beyond.”

Michigan is a key swing state in the heated battle for the White House this 2024 election cycle and has seen numerous visits from both Donald Trump and Kamala Harris.

Trump made a similar faux paus while visiting Milwaukee back in June, calling it a “horrible” city.

TheGrio’s White House correspondent Gerren Keith Gaynor contributed to this report.

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