Speaking in Detroit, Trump Insults Detroit

Audience didn't audibly object, but Democratic officials did
By Bob Cronin,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 10, 2024 6:25 PM CDT
Trump Suggests Harris Would Make a Mess, 'Like Detroit'
Members of the Detroit Economic Club stand for the Pledge of Allegiance prior to a speech by Donald Trump on Thursday in Detroit.   (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Detroit got the Milwaukee treatment on Thursday, when Donald Trump insulted his host city. The Republican presidential nominee, who referred to Milwaukee as "a horrible city" shortly before his party's national convention was held there, made the comments while attacking his election opponent in a speech to the Detroit Economic Club. He spoke at length about the harm he said Vice President Kamala Harris would do to the nation if elected president, per the Detroit Free Press. "The whole country is going to be like, you want to know the truth? It'll be like Detroit," Trump told the audience. "Our whole country will end up being like Detroit if she's your president. You're going to have a mess on your hands."

There wasn't much reaction evident from the audience. A retired banker from nearby Royal Oak said he wasn't offended, per the Washington Post. "I thought some people might take it the wrong way," Bill Willard said, "but if you put this in perspective, at one time this was a fabulous city in the '50s and '60s, and then in the '70s it went the other way a little bit." Democratic officials did react. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer posted on X that Trump should "keep Detroit out of [his] mouth," adding, "You better believe Detroiters won't forget this in November."

Michigan House Speaker Joe Tate posted "a quick reminder about what Detroit's all about." He said the city bounced back "after Trump killed our jobs, closed our businesses, & tried to throw out our votes." The city's chief executive listed other recent accomplishments, per MLive. "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. Lots of cities should be like Detroit," Mayor Mike Duggan posted on X. "And we did it all without Trump's help." (More Donald Trump 2024 stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X