By Bianca Flowers and James Oliphant
DETROIT (Reuters) – Donald Trump ventured on Saturday where few Republican presidential candidates tread: the city of Detroit, where he attended a community forum as part of a campaign to draw black voters away from President Joe Biden ahead of the election. the November elections.
Trump’s appearance at a black church attracted a mix of curious local residents and die-hard supporters, but few protests.
Both Trump and Democrat Biden have targeted Michigan as a must-win state where every vote can make a difference, and the Trump campaign argues there is an opportunity to win over black voters, particularly men, who may be attracted to the former president’s economic and border security policies.
But Detroit is also a place that Trump denigrated four years ago as “corrupt” by arguing that the 2020 election results there couldn’t be trusted.
At Church 180, on the city’s west side, Trump sat on stage at a table flanked by a panel of local community members, including small business owners and activists. The event was moderated by Florida Representative Byron Donalds, Trump’s vice presidential candidate.
Trump focused on his core messages, lashing out at the Biden administration for high inflation, crime and illegal immigration, which he said has especially hurt Black Americans.
“They are coming into your community and taking your jobs,” Trump said, without presenting evidence. “We have to kick them out.”
Trump said crime was “most rampant here in African-American communities,” adding that the “black population wants law enforcement more than anyone else.”
He also promised to revitalize the local auto industry in Detroit by imposing tariffs on vehicles made in Mexico and other countries.
(Reporting by Bianca Flowers and James Oliphant; Additional reporting by Jason Lange; Editing by Kat Stafford; Alistair Bell and Daniel Wallis)
Reuters
