Trump, Harris Intensify Michigan Push With Rally Blitz
Hamtramck, Michigan Mayor Amer Ghalib introduces Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump, as Trump visits a campaign office in Hamtramck, Mich., on Oct. 18, 2024. |
AUBURN HILLS, Mich.—The major presidential candidates held six campaign events in Michigan on Oct. 18, including an appearance by each in Oakland County, home to over a million of the state’s 8.4 million registered voters.
With 18 days remaining before the election, former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris hammered home their core messages, each making a strong appeal to auto workers and Arab Muslims.
Arab Muslims comprise just under 3 percent of the state’s population.
The intense focus on Michigan underscores the importance of this state with its 15 electoral votes in a presidential race that is a virtual tie both here and in six other states.
Trump began with a visit to Hamtramck, a city in Wayne County that is an enclave of Detroit. The small municipality is the only Muslim-majority city in the United States. Mayor Amer Ghalib, a Democrat, has endorsed Trump.
Trump did not offer specifics for ending the wars in the Middle East but said he doubted Muslim voters would support Harris.
Earlier in the day, when arriving at the Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, Trump hinted his support for not restraining Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s use of military force. Even though Biden “is trying to hold him back ... he probably should be doing the opposite, actually,” Trump said.
At an afternoon roundtable in the Oakland County community of Auburn Hills, Trump was joined by Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.), GOP Senate candidate Mike Rogers, and others to discuss problems affecting the state.
Participants commented on issues ranging from Chinese competition in the auto industry to health care and the morale of law enforcement officers. Trump repeated his promise to impose up to 200 percent tariffs or “whatever it takes” to prevent foreign competitors from dominating the auto industry.
Responding to a police officer’s comments on morale, Trump said, “We want to do [qualified] immunity” for police officers. “We also want to call for the death penalty for anybody killing a police officer.”
An hour later, speaking to a rally crowd at Detroit’s Huntington Center, Trump said that the country has been worse off under the Biden-Harris administration and that change is needed.
He repeated his promises to protect the auto industry, deport illegal immigrants, and improve the economy by increasing domestic energy production.
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