Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan was just one of several prominent Michigan Democrats who responded in kind after former President Donald Trump descended on their city on Thursday armed with fighting words.
Speaking before the Detroit Economic Club before an audience of Detroiters in, Trump warned that the “whole country will end up being like Detroit” if Vice President Kamala Harris wins the election. “You’re going to have a mess on your hands,” he added.
Trump quickly turned to other matters—but the glove had been cast off.
Donald Trump Goes to Detroit and Insults the Entire City
“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,” Duggan tweeted on Thursday afternoon.
In a video posted on Instagram, Duggan further criticized the former president, who he claimed had “fuzzy” memory.
“Since Donald Trump left office, the unemployment rate in Detroit is way down, the homicide rate is way down, and our population is growing for the first time since the 1950s. In fact, the best thing that happened to Detroit was when Donald Trump left office and Joe Biden and Kamala Harris came in and gave us real partners.”
Other Michigan leaders also joined the outcry against the former president, who is hoping to repeat his surprise 2016 victory and claim the state’s 15 electoral votes.
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. And we did it all without Trump’s help.
— Mayor Mike Duggan (@MayorMikeDuggan) October 10, 2024
“Lots of cities should be like Detroit. And we did it all without Trump’s help.” Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer chimed in, posting on X, “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.”
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… https://t.co/Q5VHuCfbkd
— Gretchen Whitmer (@gretchenwhitmer) October 10, 2024
“Donald Trump might not remember where he is right now so here’s a quick reminder about what Detroit’s all about,” wrote Rep. Joe Tate, speaker of Michigan’s House of Representatives, while posting an image of Will Smith yelling at Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars.
They even received a cool reception from the leaders of the Detroit Economic Club.
“I might disagree, because you and I know that there’s some really, really great things happening here,” Steve Grigorian, the club’s president and CEO, told local station ClickOnDetroit. “And when he mentioned that he will make Detroit ‘come back’—I don’t like that term ‘come back.’ We’re doing really, really well right now.”
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