Trump back in Michigan insults Detroit again

Trump later headed to Pennsylvania, another crucial swing state, where he appealed to young voters by promising them better conditions as they start their careers.

Trump’s stop in Novi, after an event Friday evening in Traverse City, is a sign of Michigan’s importance in the tight race. Harris held a rally in Kalamazoo on Saturday with former first lady Michelle Obama, who issued a sharp criticism of Trump and questioned why it was so close. She said: ‘I lay awake at night wondering, ‘What the hell is going on?’

The candidates in the latter part of the campaign have made regular visits to Michigan, a state that Trump won in 2016 but was taken by Democrat Joe Biden four years later.

Michigan is home to major auto companies and the largest concentration of United Auto Workers members in the country. It also has a significant Arab-American population, and many are frustrated by the Biden administration’s support for Israel’s offensive in Gaza following Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.

During his rally, Trump spotlighted local Muslim and Arab-American leaders who joined him on stage. These voters “could swing the election one way or the other,” Trump said, adding that he was counting on “overwhelming support” from those Michigan voters.

“When President Trump was president, it was peace,” said one of those leaders, Dearborn Heights Mayor Bill Bazzi. “We had no problems. There were no wars.”

While Trump seeks to capitalize on community frustration with the Democratic administration, he has a history of policies hostile to this group, including a travel ban targeting Muslim countries while in power and a promise to expand this to refugees from Gaza if he wins. on November 5.

A Trump ally, Republican Rep. Darrell Issa of California, the grandson of Lebanese immigrants, told reporters that Trump was winning the support of more Arab Americans and has built relationships with Middle Eastern leaders who want more stability in the region would bring.

In lengthy remarks to his supporters, Trump went after Harris and the media with familiar barbs and promoted immigration and energy policies, which are part of the campaign. For example, he said, immigrants “take the jobs of the black population and they take the jobs of the Hispanic population.” Government data contradicts this claim and shows that migrant workers contribute to economic growth and provide promotional opportunities for native workers.

Later Saturday, Trump traveled to State College, Pennsylvania, home of Penn State University. He told a crowd that included more young people than usual that under his leadership they will “inherit the freest, strongest, and most powerful nation on earth.”

“If you vote for me, I will ensure that you, young people, start your careers in a booming economy at a time of unprecedented peace and prosperity,” he said.

He repeatedly praised the university’s national championship-winning wrestling team and invited several athletes onto the stage to shake his hand.

During both campaign stops on Saturday, Trump drew attention to the impact of an influx of Haitian migrants on Springfield, Ohio. But he stopped short of repeating false claims about immigrants eating pets, a story that had drawn resistance from members of both parties and prompted bomb threats at some schools and government buildings.

Trump took the stage an hour and forty minutes after he was originally billed to speak. An hour after he made his comments, the crowd in the back of the arena had become noticeably bare, especially as kickoff for Sunday night’s Penn State game at Wisconsin approached.

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Swenson reported from New York.