Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) is poised to hammer former President Trump in Michigan Friday over remarks he made a day earlier bashing Detroit while in the Motor City.
Walz, the Democratic nominee for vice president, is holding a campaign event in Macomb County just outside of Detroit. A senior campaign official said Walz would directly respond to Trump, who a day earlier warned disparagingly that the entire country would look like Detroit under a Harris-Walz administration.
“Maybe if he ever spent any time in the Midwest, he’d know Detroit is experiencing a great American comeback,” Walz will say, according to the campaign official. “Crime is down. The city is growing. Factories are opening again. But all these guys know about manufacturing is how to manufacture bulls—.”
Walz will also hit back at the former president’s repeated attacks on investments in electric vehicle manufacturing. Trump has used those investments to foster fear about the future of the U.S. auto industry if he is not elected in November.
“Some of these plants will produce electric vehicles. And I know some folks here might be a little skeptical of that,” Walz will say. “Here’s my take on this: People are looking for choices — and we need to make those choices more affordable. Nobody’s mandating anything. If you want to drive a ‘79 International Harvester Scout like I do, knock yourself out.”
Trump on Thursday spoke at the Detroit Economic Club, where he twice appeared to jab at the host city.
In one instance, he was speaking about China being a developing nation.
“Well, we’re a developing nation too, just take a look at Detroit,” the GOP presidential nominee said. “Detroit’s a developing area more than most places in China.”
Trump later derisively suggested if Vice President Harris wins in November, the whole country could end up like Detroit.
“Our whole country will end up being like Detroit if she’s your president. You’re going to have a mess on your hands,” he said.
The former president’s comments drew swift backlash from state and city officials.
“Detroit is the epitome of ‘grit,’ defined by winners willing to get their hands dirty to build up their city and create their communities—something Donald Trump could never understand. So keep Detroit out of your mouth. And you better believe Detroiters won’t forget this in November,” Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) posted on social platform X.
Detroit is the largest city in Michigan, which is a key battleground state in November’s election. The Hill/Decision Desk HQ’s average of polls shows Trump and Vice President Harris separated by less than 1 percentage point in the state.
Trump and his allies in 2020 claimed without evidence there was widespread voter fraud in Detroit, which votes heavily Democratic.
President Biden won the city by nearly 94 percentage points in 2020. The former president lost the state of Michigan in 2020 by roughly 155,000 votes.
