Obama rallies for Harris in Detroit

Early voting began in Detroit last Saturday morning and will continue through Nov. 5. Fourteen voting sites across the city are currently open. Johnson, who was the first speaker, told the crowd that Detroit’s vote could win Harris the presidential election. 

“If you’re here, you know how important this election is,” Johnson said. “But some people in our community are still a bit checked out. If Detroit shows up, Kamala will win this race.”

Whitmer spoke in her remarks about the importance of Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, vice presidential candidate, winning the upcoming election. She cited several of Harris’ campaign platform points, including lowering costs and protecting workers. In her speech, Whitmer described Obama’s influence on Michigan.

“President Obama saved the Michigan auto industry and saved hundreds and thousands of jobs,” Whitmer said. “Obama is here because he knows how important this election is and how important it is for Michigan.”

Whitmer also talked about a moment during former President Donald Trump’s visit to the Detroit Economic Club, when he referred to the city as “the mess” he does not want the country to become. 

“He called Detroit and Michigan ‘the mess,’” Whitmer said. “He doesn’t have a clue what the hell he was talking about. He ought to keep Detroit out of his mouth.” 

Obama was introduced by Detroit native rapper Eminem, who encouraged the crowd to vote.

Throughout his speech, Obama emphasized Harris and Walz’s middle-class backgrounds and Trump’s inability to relate to Michiganders. 

“If you elect Kamala and Tim, they will not focus on their problems,” Obama said. “They will focus on your problems. … They can see you and they can relate to you because they live like you have and they understand that too many folks across the country and in Michigan are struggling to pay bills. … Donald Trump plans to give another tax cut to billionaires and corporations.” 

Obama discussed his own presidency and the work he did with the auto industry, referencing the tax cut Trump instituted in 2017.

“I spent eight years cleaning up the mess Republicans left us,” Obama said. “The auto industry was flat on its back. They didn’t want to lift a finger to help, and we made investments to reopen those measures and put people back to work. All he did was give a tax cut to people who didn’t need one. … Now he wants to do that again. Do not fall for that.”

Obama also endorsed Slotkin, emphasizing her campaign priorities including lowering costs of prescription drugs and bringing supply chains back home.

“Some of you might not know, but Elissa and I go way back,” Obama said. “Elissa don’t play. On some of these key issues she understood when you had to compromise and when you had to stand tall.”

Towards the end of his speech, Obama said systemic issues facing the nation today cannot be solved in one administration, and the fight for equity is ongoing. 

“Politics is not going to solve all your problems,” Obama said. “Poverty will still exist, even if Kamala Harris and Tim Walz get elected, because it’s a hard problem. Racism doesn’t go away based on one vote or one administration. Those things don’t stop overnight. The way you make progress is by making things better a little bit at a time, and then over time, those little differences become big differences.”

Willow Miller, a high school student from Port Huron, attended the rally with their father. Although they are too young to vote in this election, they emphasized issues important to them: reproductive rights, disability rights and protection of young people. In an interview with The Michigan Daily, Miller said politics can connect young people to important issues.  

“In general, having a connection to our politics is an important thing, especially when you’re young — like I’m in high school,” Miller said. “I just want to be connected to my state. I want to be connected to my country and have a say about what’s going on.”

Among the crowd of Harris supporters was Jon Solomon, who attended with about 30 members of United Auto Workers. The group is canvassing in areas as well as phone banking throughout southeast Michigan, according to Solomon. He told The Daily about his reasons for supporting Harris.

“Personally, I’m supporting Kamala Harrris, mostly for reproductive freedom and women’s rights,” Solomon said. “(Harris) backs the union, and she thinks a lot of the American worker, and that’s part of the reason why about 30 of us are here today supporting her.”

In the 2008 election, Obama won Michigan with 57.33% of the vote and in 2012, he won the state again with 54.03% of the total vote. In 2016, Hillary Clinton, former U.S. secretary of state, lost Michigan to Trump by a margin of 0.53%, and Trump later lost the state to Biden in 2020. As one of seven swing states in the 2024 presidential election, Michigan is expected to be a deciding state in this year’s election. Solomon said he believes Obama’s endorsement of Harris will be an advantage for her Michigan campaign.

“I think that Obama has such a stronghold,” Solomon said. “People love him throughout the USA that him showing up for Kamala is going to send a message to everyone into Detroit and Michigan to say, ‘This is our lady and this is who we got.’”

In Dearborn, the first Arab-majority city in the U.S., Harris’ campaign has faltered, facing criticism for the Biden-Harris administration’s response to Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. Sherri Biggs, a social worker based in Dearborn, told The Daily at the rally that she hopes people will still vote for Harris.

“With Dearborn, it’s been a very difficult situation with Palestine and (with) what’s happening in Lebanon,” Biggs said. “I have a lot of empathy, and so it’s a very, very tough time for a lot of people. But I’m hoping that people will see beyond that and realize that Trump will be more of an enemy to all of them.”

Ken Daniels, a lifelong Detroit resident and former state representative, told The Daily that he believes undecided Michigan voters might be swayed by Obama’s presence in Detroit.

“A lot of people are undecided,” Daniels said. “Detroit has overwhelmingly supported Obama, and now he’s working with Kamala, trying to get her elected. They’ll listen and they’ll come to the closing moment. Again, we’ll be victorious.”

Daily News Editor Sneha Dhandapani can be reached at sdhanda@umich.edu.

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