By Bianca Flowers and James Oliphant
DETROIT (Reuters) – Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump will travel to Detroit on Saturday to attend a roundtable discussion at a Black church, the latest in an effort to alienate black voters from President Joe Biden ahead of the November election.
Trump’s planned visit to a church on Detroit’s west side has received fierce pushback from local Democrats and the Biden campaign who argue Trump has done little as president to improve black communities nationwide.
Trump has disparaged Detroit in the past as “corrupt,” but he and Biden have identified Michigan as a must-win state, and voters there are expected to be as close or closer than they were four years ago.
Detroit, one of the largest cities in the Black-majority nation, will be pivotal in the outcome of the Michigan election. While parts of the city have seen economic revival, many neighborhoods continue to struggle with structural inequities and historical disinvestment. Experts say inflation and pocketbook issues matter most to voters.
Trump held a rally in New York’s South Bronx neighborhood last month, making a direct appeal to Black — as well as Hispanic — voters on the issues of cost of living and immigration.
Trump’s campaign has long argued that there is opportunity with those voters, especially men, who may be struggling economically. At a Bronx rally, Trump, without evidence, said illegal migration disproportionately hurts voters of color.
When the Trump campaign approached Lorenzo Sewell, the pastor of the 180 Church where the roundtable was to be held, he initially thought he was under arrest.
“I was thinking ‘Am I punked?'” Sewell told Reuters.
But Sewell said he welcomes the opportunity. “That started to move my heart because people who are disenfranchised, marginalized, and marginalized usually don’t have a voice at the table,” she said.
Levend Montgomery, an elder of the church that voted for Trump in 2020, said that he has a connection with the former president and his legal problems, because he met with the law when he was young.
“There’s no perfect candidate. There’s no perfect party, but I’m more than happy with President Trump and what he’s going to do for this country at this particular time in history,” Montgomery said.
Trump was convicted in New York last month of 34 felony charges for his involvement in a scheme to cover up payments during the 2016 election to a porn star who allegedly had an affair. He also faces separate charges of interfering with the 2020 election and allegedly mishandling classified documents.
Trump was criticized in February when he insisted black voters were more attracted to him after a series of indictments on criminal charges. Trump’s complaints about victimization by prosecutors and courts resonate with many Black voters who say African Americans are the people who suffer the most from injustice in the criminal justice system.
Sewell plans to discuss education, jobs, housing and transportation with Trump, and said his decision to host the event is not an endorsement.
“This is not about for or against Trump or Biden,” he said. “It’s about being our community and making sure our voices are heard.”
While some Black voters have expressed support for Trump, efforts to galvanize them have been met with resistance.
Trump has made a number of inflammatory and racist statements over the years that have drawn heavy criticism. After the 2020 election, Trump called Detroit and Philadelphia “two of the most corrupt political places” in the country.
Last year, Trump urged supporters to “keep the vote” in cities including Detroit, Philadelphia and Atlanta — all Democratic strongholds with large black populations.
Bishop Charles E. Ellis III, pastor of Greater Grace Temple on Detroit’s west side and a prominent community leader, said Trump’s visit was “hypocritical.”
Ellis was at a vote counting center downtown a few hours after election day in November 2020 when Trump supporters tried to stop the count, banging on doors and windows.
“You want to come and judge the vote after you send the mass after the vote?” Ellis said.
SLIPPING AWAY?
Black Americans have been credited with helping Biden secure the White House in 2020. However, new polls suggest some support among Black voters, historically considered the Democratic Party’s most loyal voting bloc.
Trump’s visit to Detroit is unlikely to lead to any change in Black support, experts told Reuters. But the visit is likely to draw the attention of Republicans and independent voters, who want to see him build a broader coalition beyond loyalists.
Among black registered voters, Biden led Trump 57% to 12% in a Reuters/Ipsos poll in May, with 16% saying they weren’t sure who they would vote for, 8% saying some other candidate and 7% saying they won’t vote on everything.
“The fact that he’s devoting resources to African Americans, the constituency least likely to vote for him, shows that this is more about show than anything else,” said University of Michigan political science professor Vincent Hutchings.
The Trump campaign, however, argues that it can win over some part of the Black vote through quality-of-life issues.
“President Trump reached out to minority voters directly: he looked, listened, and made it clear that we would be better off with him as president, just as we were four years ago,” said Janiyah Thomas, the campaign’s Black media director. .
The Biden campaign has stepped up its efforts in Michigan, where Biden beat Trump by 2.7 percentage points in 2020.
Biden spoke at an NAACP dinner in Detroit last month, while Vice President Kamala Harris visited the country earlier this week.
“Donald Trump has spent his life and political career disrespecting Black Americans at every opportunity,” said Biden campaign spokeswoman Sarafina Chitika. “President Biden is on the campaign trail showing up — constantly — to get, and not ask for, the support of Black Americans. That’s what leadership looks like.”
