By air, land and lake, supporters and opponents of Donald Trump flocked to metro Detroit on Saturday to spread their message.
A “Make America Great Again” boat parade, organized to mark the former president’s 78th birthday Friday, flooded Lake St. Clair with red, white and blue all afternoon. What appeared to be a few hundred boats, adorned with American flags and “Trump 2024” banners, sailed along the shoreline from the Nine Mile Tower to Hart Plaza. For the parade’s supporters, the theme of the day was clear: community unity.
“We’re celebrating President Trump, Trump’s birthday, Father’s Day, community unity,” said Rob Cortis, who is manning a repurposed ambulance with a trailer that reads “Trump Unity” written in large letters. He aptly calls it the Trump Unity Bridge. As he spoke, a loudspeaker in the vehicle played Barry Manilow’s “Copacabana.”
“We want to put America first, we want to put working people first and people first,” Cortis said.
The boat parade was scheduled to end in the Detroit River near Hart Plaza in downtown Detroit around 4 p.m. At the same time, Trump spoke during a roundtable discussion at a church in Detroit. At 6 p.m., Trump was at Huntington Place and delivered the keynote speech for the People’s Convention. Turning Point Action, a conservative nonprofit, hosted Trump as the keynote speaker at the rally. The three-day event featured a series of major Republicans, including Donald Trump Jr., U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Trump’s former chief of staff Steve Bannon.
“I think he’s reaching out,” said Mark Miller, who lined up to watch the day’s festivities with his family from a waterfront park. “Michigan has always been close, but Detroit has always not been there for Trump. I’m impressed that he’s here.”
Debbie Lambert, another parader, has been a supporter since Trump’s election in 2016. She hopes his visit to Michigan will help other people in her state “see everything that’s going on, for people to open their eyes to really wake up.” are,” she said. She thinks Trump’s recent criminal conviction in New York is an attempt to discourage voters from casting their ballots for who they want.
“We’ve been to a lot of meetings,” she said. “They are like-minded people who support Trump.”
Along with the waterfront, the Bikers for Trump group went over a road route for the parade. A school of motorcycles flying MAGA flags and traveling 20 miles per hour were followed by the Trump Unity Bridge and a dozen cars. That group drove down the coast and left to regroup at Beaumont Hospital in Grosse Pointe. Later, a smaller fleet circled Hart Plaza parallel to the fleet. At the intersection, cars honked in support. Others lowered their windows and shouted to express their contempt.
A few protesters gathered to represent an independent movement of Detroiters against Trump that is not tied to any political party, said Mark Airgood, one of the protesters. “There is no way that Detroit will welcome Trump,” he said. “We know that the vast majority of Detroiters stand with us, against Trump and the racism he spreads.”
Several groups of People’s Convention attendees lingered nearby to observe the demonstrators as they marched in circles next to the Joe Louis “The Fist” monument, shouting into mega horns and billboards.
Perry Everson, a young Detroiter, stood with the crowd holding a Trump sign. He had come out to show his support for the parade. He hopes to see more black voters for Trump in the coming elections, but respects that alternative views exist. “I support everyone, everyone has their own opinion,” he said.
A similar dynamic played out in the sky: small planes criss-crossed the lake with banners in tow. One read “Trump 2024.” Another copy, paid for by the Democratic National Convention, read: “TRUMP IS A CONMAN, DON’T Sink YOUR BOAT.” A few others – two promoting a gun shop and another a cannabis brand – took advantage of the crowd for publicity.
A small group of supporters waited for the boats to pass Hart Plaza at 4 p.m., the stated arrival time. A few ships flying American flags trickled in. Cortis said the boats arrived ahead of schedule and returned near the Renaissance Center.
“I was born here,” Cortis said. “And I’m proud to have Trump as one of my guests in Detroit, Michigan. Very proud.”
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: MAGA Boat Parade in metro Detroit brings out supporters of Donald Trump
