news

‘Together, Detroit, we have the chance’

Vaseline October 23, 2024

Detroit – Former President Barack Obama urged voters in Detroit and Michigan to cast their ballots for Democrat Kamala Harris during a raucous rally Tuesday night in which he was introduced by hometown favorite Eminem.

Obama told the crowd at Huntington Place that he was in the Motor City to remind them of early voting options to elect Harris and Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Elissa Slotkin.

“Together, Detroit, we have the opportunity to select a new generation of leadership in America,” Obama said. “Let me tell you: your vote is going to matter. We know this election is going to be tight.”

Former President Barack Obama speaks about Vice President Kamala Harris

Former President Barack Obama speaks in support of Vice President Kamala Harris in Detroit on October 22, 2024

Obama’s campaign stop in Detroit came as voting takes place in Michigan’s largest city, a longtime Democratic stronghold. As of Tuesday, Detroit voters had returned 59,474 of the 108,649 absentee ballots they requested from the city clerk, a return rate of nearly 55%, according to the secretary of state’s office.

State data shows another 4,004 Detroiters have cast ballots at the city’s early voting centers since they opened Saturday, a week before the rest of the state begins nine days of in-person early voting.

This is Michigan’s first presidential election under a new state law that allows early in-person voting, in addition to casting absentee ballots by mail or drop box. That has led the campaigns of Harris and former President Donald Trump to urge voters to cast their ballots before Election Day.

On Tuesday night, Eminem, wearing a khaki Olde English “D” hat, proposed to Obama and urged the crowd to get engaged.

“As we head into this election, the spotlight is on us more than ever, and it’s important to use your voice,” the rapper cheered during his brief introduction. “So get out and vote. … People should not be afraid to express their opinions.”

Obama took the stage soon after and joked about the star power that preceded him: “I felt like I was following Eminem in some way.”

“The good news is that Kamala Harris is up for the job,” Obama said. “This is a leader who has fought for people who need a voice. This is someone who believes in the values of this country.”

In a message tailored to the Motor City, Obama said some people have told him they support Trump because “he seems tough.”

“That’s not what real strength is – real strength is about hard work, showing up on the job… That’s real strength and real strength is taking responsibility for your actions and telling the truth even when it’s hard, and helping people . when they need it,” he said.

Obama attacked Trump for mishandling the COVID-19 pandemic during his presidency and for putting three justices on the U.S. Supreme Court who overturned Roe v. Wade, resulting in abortion bans in more than 20 states.

“If we believe in freedom, such a deeply personal decision should be made by the woman whose body is involved, not by a politician,” Obama said of abortion.

Citing Canada’s COVID death rate, which is 60% lower than the U.S., Obama suggested that as many as 600,000 American deaths could have been averted if Trump had followed a pandemic “playbook” his administration developed during his second term.

“Some of those people would still be alive if we had a competent president,” Obama said.

In his roughly 40-minute speech, Obama said former President Donald Trump wants the nation to think it is divided because “he understands that dividing people and making people angry increases his chances of getting elected.”

The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday evening.

Thousands of supporters filled the seats around the main stage and the stands at the back of the venue. The standing room only areas were full. Many women were dressed in pink from head to toe; some men wore Obama or Harris T-shirts.

Heather McBride said she came to the event to see the former president in person and described the moment as “history in the making.”

McBride, 51, of Wyandotte, also said she joined other supporters to celebrate Harris as a candidate.

“In this world it’s so hard, you can’t talk to family and friends because no one wants to talk about politics,” McBride said. “When you come to an event like this, you’re surrounded by people like you, and that motivates you.”

Prior to the president’s arrival, former Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson Jr. the podium to tell the cheering crowd that he came to represent “athletes for Harris.”

“The people of Detroit are resilient, passionate and proud, and we know how to get the job done… and we look good doing it,” Johnson said. “I forgot about that. Kamala Harris understands that she also has the same courage and spirit.”

“I can’t say the same for the other side,” Johnson said of Trump. “Take it to the polls and vote.”

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer told the crowd in warming remarks that Michigan will help put Harris in the White House, and knocked Trump for his recent comments about Detroit during a visit to the city.

“He should keep Detroit out of his mouth,” Whitmer said.

“You, the people, have the real power in these elections, your vote is the power. Never forget it,” Whitmer said. “If Detroit shows up, he loses. He’s about to find out Detroiters don’t play.”

Earlier Tuesday, former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick warned voters ahead of Obama’s visit to Detroit that the Chicago Democrat was “not the messiah” and that Obama was pitching a message that no longer resonates with the black community.

Kilpatrick, who was convicted of 24 crimes and had his sentence commuted by former President Donald Trump in 2021, made the comments during a Trump campaign call with other Black Detroit men ahead of Obama’s rally for Harris.

“I want my president, Kwame Kilpatrick, to understand that people respect what he has done during his time in office; they respect him as a man,” Kilpatrick said. ‘He is a politician, so he has the absolute right to be involved in politics. But he is not the Messiah or the father of the community. And if you say to black men just because this is a woman, you should be forced to vote for her. isolates men and women in their own households.

“We believe women can have that job, but not this one,” Kilpatrick added about Harris.

During a question-and-answer session after Kipatrick’s comments, moderators did not ask The Detroit News a question asking whether Kilpatrick was paid for his appearance at the news conference. Later, a spokeswoman said Kilpatrick was not paid for the news conference.

Obama was in Detroit on Tuesday evening amid a flurry of campaign visits from Harris, Trump and their running mates, Tim Walz and JD Vance.

Harris’ campaign and surrogates have called on male voters, especially black men, to rally more support for the ticket in swing states where the race is expected to be close.

In Michigan earlier this month, former NBA star and Michigan native Magic Johnson appeared before Harris at a Flint rally with a direct appeal to black men.

“Our black men, we have to get them to vote, that’s number one,” Johnson said. “Kamala’s opponent promised a lot of things to the black community last time that he didn’t deliver, and we need to make sure we help black men understand that. That’s why I’m here to make sure I help black men understand. “

[email protected]