Trump picks a fight with Detroit

Detroit (CNN) — Former President Donald Trump on Thursday warned that the country would end up “like Detroit” if Vice President Kamala Harris is elected, his latest jab at an urban center in a swing state that he hopes to win next month.

In remarks laying out his vision for the auto industry at the Detroit Economic Club, Trump said, “Our whole country will end up being like Detroit if (Harris is) your president. You’re going to have a mess on your hands.”

He claimed Harris “destroyed” San Francisco, and later added, “We’re not going to let her do that to this country. We’re not gonna let it happen.”

Trump also compared the largest city in the battleground state to a developing nation while speaking, accusing China of abusing its developing nation status in international trade.

“We’re a developing nation too. Just take a look at Detroit,” he said, calling the city a “developing area … hell of a lot more than most places in China.”

While Detroit remains severely reduced in size and economic strength from its early 20th century heyday, its recovery from bankruptcy proceedings in 2013 and the continued growth of the city’s downtown area is a point of pride for Detroiters and many leaders in Michigan. On the day that Trump was speaking in the city, thousands of fans were flocking to Detroit for a playoff baseball game and the opening game of the season for the Detroit Red Wings. The city grew in population for the first time since 1957 between July 2022 and July 2023, the city government announced earlier this year.

Trump has a history of insulting urban centers around the country, including in states he needs to win to return to the White House. Similarly to his comments about San Francisco, he sparked controversy earlier this year for telling House Republicans that Milwaukee, a major city in Wisconsin, is “horrible,” when speaking about crime and election concerns. He later assured Wisconsin voters “I love Milwaukee” and said he chose the city to host the Republican National Convention.

Harris alluded to those previous remarks when she criticized Trump for his statement later Thursday.

“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,” Harris told reporters in Las Vegas.

During his remarks to the Detroit Economic Club, Trump said he wants the “triumph of the American auto industry” to be among his “greatest legacies,” and promised a “rebirth” of Detroit if he’s elected after laying out how he plans to bolster the US auto industry and manufacturing, including a proposal to make interest paid on car loans fully tax deductible.

“I’m telling you right now, standing here in the center of this once-great city, that by the end of my term the entire world will be talking about the Michigan miracle, and the stunning rebirth of Detroit, that’s going to happen,” he said.

Trump said he’s been “reading about Detroit for so many years, that it’s coming around. It’s coming around and never really got there.”

“If you make the auto industry bigger, better, stronger, you don’t have to worry about Detroit. It’ll be very good. It’ll come back soon,” he said.

President Joe Biden defeated Trump in 2020 by more than 30 points in Wayne County, which includes the city of Detroit. Trump is trying to make inroads this year in blue areas, hoping to cut down Democratic margins and peel away votes from constituencies like Black and Arab Americans.

City leaders and Democrats from around the state leapt to Detroit’s defense after Trump’s comments were reported.

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan defended the city’s resurgence, noting that Detroit hosted the NFL Draft and has seen a decline in violent crime and increase in population in recent years.

“Lots of cities should be like Detroit. And we did it all without Trump’s help,” he said.

Michigan Democratic Party Chair Lavora Barnes said Trump “always has something nasty to say about places where you find a lot of hard-working Black folks.”

“But whatever Donald thinks, we’re proud to be a city that bounces back, no matter what gets thrown at us. And we’ll be proud to be the place that shows this guy the door,” she said, alluding to Michigan’s key electoral role as a battleground state.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Harris’ vice-presidential pick, plans to go after Trump for his remarks in a speech on Friday.

“Maybe if he ever spent any time in the Midwest, he’d know Detroit is experiencing a great American comeback. Crime is down. The city is growing. Factories are opening again. But all these guys know about manufacturing is how to manufacture bulls–t,” Walz is expected to say.

A spokesperson for the Trump campaign in Michigan said the former president “remembers when Detroit was lauded as the gold standard for auto manufacturing success and revolutionized the industry” and highlighted how the city has “suffered from globalist policies championed by Kamala Harris that have shipped manufacturing overseas.”

“As President Trump emphasized in his speech, his policies will usher in a new era of economic success and stability for Detroit, helping the city reach its fullest potential,” said Trump Michigan Communications Director Victoria LaCivita in a statement.

Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance also campaigned in Detroit on Tuesday.

This story has been updated with additional reporting.

CNN’s Alayna Treene and Aaron Pellish contributed to this report.

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