Just days after former President Donald Trump said “Our whole country will end up being like Detroit” if Vice President Kamala Harris is elected president, the Harris campaign will air an ad calling out Trump’s comments disparaging the Motor City.
The ad, titled “Like Detroit” will contrast Trump’s comments, made during an event in Detroit on Thursday, with images of the city’s apparent revitalization. It’s narrated by Detroit native and Emmy award-winning actor Courtney B. Vance, and is set to air during the Detroit Tigers’ playoff game against the Cleveland Guardians on Saturday (1 p.m., TBS) and during the Detroit Lions’ contest against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday (4 p.m., FOX).
During a long address to the Detroit Economic Club, Trump criticized both Harris and Detroit.
“The whole country is going to be like, you want to know the truth? It’ll be 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,” Trump said during a nearly two-hour speech at Motor City Casino Hotel on Thursday.
The comments were immediately seized on by elected Democrats in Detroit, including Michigan House Speaker Joe Tate, D-Detroit, who posted on social media “Donald Trump might not remember where he is right now so here’s a quick reminder about what Detroit’s all about. This is the greatest city in the country (and) we’ve bounced back after Trump killed our jobs, closed our businesses, (and) tried to throw out our votes.”
The ad will air with fewer than four weeks to go until the Nov. 5 presidential election between Harris and Trump.
The minute-long ad starts with a news anchor speaking about Detroit’s 2013 bankruptcy, followed by Vance’s narration: “They said we were dead.”
“But you know what we said? We said f— that,” Vance later continues. “We rebuilt ourselves. We look out for each other. Got our hands dirty and put in the hard work. And this guy, he don’t know anything about that. We are a city of winners. Of up-and-comers. Of builders. The Motor City, bigger and better. Here, we believe in freedom. We don’t bow down to nobody, and we never will. “
Images of striking autoworkers, construction projects, and other parts of the city are displayed as Vance narrates.
The ad ends with Vance saying “that he should be so goddamn lucky” after a clip of Trump’s “the whole country will be like Detroit” comment is played.
The communications director of Trump’s Michigan campaign, Victoria LaCivita, said in response to the ad, “Like many Americans, President Trump remembers when Detroit was lauded as the gold standard for auto manufacturing success and revolutionized the industry.”
“Detroit has suffered from globalist policies championed by Kamala Harris that have shipped manufacturing overseas,” she said in a statement that also pointed to Detroit’s population loss and homicide rate.
“… 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.”
Locally, leaders in Detroit have suggested the city is experiencing a resurgence. After decades of population loss, the city’s population grew slightly last year. Detroit officials also said last year the city experienced the lowest amount of homicides in 57 years, although the city still has one of the highest crime rates in the U.S.
Detroit is a Democratic stronghold that will almost certainly be handily won by Harris this fall, but the Trump campaign has worked to court voters in the city. Michigan’s presidential contest is expected to be extremely competitive, and Trump turning out voters in Detroit could help his chances of winning the state. The Harris campaign’s new ad, part of a $370 million national ad blitz planned for the fall, is aimed at shoring up support in the city.
Harris will also be in Detroit on Tuesday to participate in an event with radio personality Charlamagne tha God, host of “The Breakfast Club.”
Harris’ running mate, Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, was in Michigan on Friday. Walz mentioned Trump’s comments about Detroit during a campaign stop Friday in Warren, prompting boos from the crowd of supporters.
“But if the guy were to ever spend any time in the Midwest – like all of us know – we know Detroit’s experiencing American comeback and renaissance,” Walz said.
Michigan is considered a key state in deciding the outcome of the presidential election. Opinion polls, both in Michigan and nationally, show a very close race between Harris and Trump. The RealClearPolling average of recent polls conducted in Michigan show Trump holding a lead of 0.9 percentage points over Harris.
Free Press staffers Clara Hendrickson and Todd Spangler contributed to this story.
Contact Arpan Lobo: alobo@freepress.com
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