Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump spoke at the Detroit Economic Club Thursday at the Motor City Casino and Hotel.
At one point, the twice-impeached former president told the crowd that if Democratic nominee Kamala Harris wins the White House, "our whole country will end up being like Detroit if she's your president."
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer did not take Trump's comments about Detroit lightly, responding 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."
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Detroit, despite its struggles during the Great Recession, has had significant economic growth throughout the last decade and is viewed as a benchmark for other cities trying to revitalize their economy.
Dan Gilbert, the founder of Rocket Companies, for example, has pushed billions of dollars into the city to spur economic and population growth.
‘We Did It All Without Trump’s Help’
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan also reacted on X to Trump's comments.
"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 said. "Lots of cities should be like Detroit. And we did it all without Trump's help."
In addition to denigrating Detroit, Trump’s two-hour speech veered from topic to topic: the auto industry, tariffs, the economy, rocket ships and geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
On inflation, Trump said he had “more complaints on grocery.”
“The word grocery,” Trump said. “It’s a simple word, but it means, like, everything you eat. The stomach is speaking. It always does. I have more complaints about that, bacon and things going up double, triple, quadruple.
Annual inflation has fallen to 2.4 percent, its slowest pace since early 2021.
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