By Bianca Flowers and James Oliphant
DETROIT (Reuters) – Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump will venture to Detroit on Saturday to attend a roundtable discussion at a black church, the latest in an effort to loosen black voters from President Joe Biden ahead of the November election .
Trump’s planned visit to a church in the heart of Detroit’s west side has drawn fierce opposition from local Democrats and the Biden campaign, who argued that Trump did little as president to improve Black communities across the country.
Trump has labeled Detroit “corrupt” in the past, but both he and Biden have identified Michigan as a must-win state, and the vote there is expected to be as close or closer than it was four years ago.
Detroit, one of the largest black-majority cities in the country, will play a crucial role in Michigan’s election outcome. While parts of the city have seen an economic revival, many neighborhoods continue to struggle with structural inequality and historic disinvestment. Experts say inflation and wallet issues are top priorities for voters.
Trump held a rally in a neighborhood in New York’s South Bronx last month, making a direct appeal to black — as well as Latinx — voters on the cost of living and immigration issues.
The Trump campaign has long argued that opportunities exist for those voters, especially men, who may be struggling economically. At his Bronx rally, Trump argued without evidence that illegal migration disproportionately harms voters of color.
When Trump’s campaign contacted Lorenzo Sewell, the pastor of 180 Church where he will hold the roundtable, he at first thought he was being pranked.
“I thought, ‘Am I being punked?’” Sewell told Reuters.
But Sewell said he welcomed the opportunity. “That started to stir my heart because people who are disenfranchised, sidelined and marginalized, generally don’t have a voice at the table,” he said.
Levend Montgomery, a church elder who voted for Trump in 2020, said he related to the former president and his legal troubles, citing his run-in with the law in his early teens.
“There is no perfect candidate. There is no perfect party, but I resonate more with President Trump and what he is trying to do for this country at this particular moment in history,” Montgomery said.
Trump was convicted in New York last month of 34 felonies for participating in a scheme to cover up his payment during the 2016 election to a porn star with whom he had an alleged affair. He also faces separate charges of interfering in the 2020 election and mishandling classified documents.
Trump drew criticism in February when he claimed that black voters were more attracted to him following his multiple criminal charges. Trump’s complaints about victimization by prosecutors and courts sit poorly with many black voters who say African Americans are the ones who suffer most from unfairness in the criminal justice system.
Sewell plans to discuss education, jobs, housing and transportation with Trump, and said his decision to host the event was not an endorsement.
“This is not about being for or against Trump or Biden,” he said. “It’s about standing up for our community and making sure our voices are heard.”
Although some black voters have expressed support for Trump, his efforts to energize them have been met with resistance.
Trump has made a series 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 his supporters to “guard the vote” in cities like 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 present at a downtown vote counting center in the hours after Election Day in November 2020, when Trump supporters tried to stop the count by banging on doors and windows.
“You want to come and cast my vote after sending a mob after my vote?” Ellis said.
SLIDING AWAY?
Black Americans are said to have helped Biden secure the White House in 2020. Still, recent polls have suggested some erosion of support among black voters, historically seen as the Democratic Party’s most loyal voting bloc.
Trump’s visit to Detroit is unlikely to lead to a notable shift in black support, experts told Reuters. But the visit could appeal to centrist Republicans and independent voters, who would like to see him build a broader coalition beyond his loyalists.
Among Black registered voters, Biden led Trump 57% to 12% in a Reuters/Ipsos poll in May, with 16% saying they were unsure who they will vote for, 8% saying another candidate and 7% saying that they had won. don’t vote at all.
“The fact that he is devoting resources to African Americans, the one constituency least likely to vote for him, suggests this is more about show than anything else,” said Vincent Hutchings, a political science professor at the University of Michigan .
However, the Trump campaign claims it can win over some of the black vote on quality of life issues.
“President Trump’s outreach to minority voters is simple: He shows up, listens and makes it clear that we will be better off with him as president, just as we were four years ago,” said Janiyah Thomas, Black Media Director of the campaign. .
The Biden campaign has stepped up efforts in Michigan, where Biden defeated 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 state earlier this week.
“Donald Trump has spent his life and political career disparaging Black Americans every chance he gets,” Biden campaign spokesperson Sarafina Chitika said. “President Biden is on the campaign trail, showing up – consistently – to earn, not ask for, the support of Black Americans. This is what leadership looks like.”
(Reporting by Bianca Flowers and James Oliphant; Jason Lange contributed to this report. Editing by Kat Stafford and Alistair Bell)
