Welcome back. I’m still Malachi Barrett.
I was canvassing the Hubbard Richard neighborhood on Friday to let folks know about our upcoming town hall on elections and voting access when I ran into Derrick Wilson.
He was smoking a cigarette in his car, relaxing hard on a hot Friday morning. I asked Wilson what he thought about former President Donald Trump coming to Detroit on Saturday. Wilson didn’t know about the scheduled visits to 180 Church or Huntington Place, but said he’s ready to vote for Trump.
“I love Trump,” Wilson said. “That’s my dog, that’s my buddy.”
Wilson said attempts to label the former president as a “bad guy” or racist aren’t convincing, even after Trump was convicted of 34 felonies for falsifying business records. Wilson admires Trump’s efforts to promote traditional American values.
Wilson identified himself as Black, Puerto Rican, Indian and white. He was among 5% of Detroiters who voted for Trump in 2020 and 3% voters who backed Trump in 2016.
The former president’s reelection campaign is working to grow its support with Black voters this weekend, where every vote matters in a potentially close election.
An hour later, I attended a Biden-Harris campaign event at Rosa Cafe in Rosedale Park. Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist and U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow said Trump is no ally of Black Detroiters.
“It is offensive for him to come here, him and his Republican allies, where they made the Huntington Place the epicenter of their steal the election effort,” Gilchrist said. “When they talk about election integrity, they want it to be easier for them to steal.”
Gilchrist said Trump supporters tried to prevent election workers from counting absentee ballots “because there are more Black voters here than any part of Michigan.” He challenged Biden supporters to “aggressively” knock on doors, make phone calls and rally voters.
I asked the speakers what they would say to Detroiters like Wilson, who see Biden as emblematic of a system that doesn’t do much for them.
“I’ve had this conversation with a lot of people from around Detroit and we should be really clear that Donald Trump is an insider; the entire Republican machine bows to him, and that is a system that is designed and optimized for Black failure,” Gilchrist said.
“The work we are doing is to give people an alternative vision. What we’re talking about (is) all the things that the president and vice president have done to lay a foundation for Black future prosperity, and access to health and wealth.”
Norman Clement, founder of the nonprofit organization Detroit Change Initiative, said that means talking with Black voters who are consuming online “red pill” content and drawn to Trump’s “machismo.”
“We live in a culture where there’s so much reality TV and he’s the reality TV president,” Clement said. “Now we have Biden doing his job, and people got accustomed to the circus. A lot of folks who say they are voting for Trump don’t do any organizing. They’re outside everything. They talk a big game.”
Clement said some voters credit Trump with providing pandemic relief checks, a recurring concern voiced in recent Biden campaign events.
Keith Williams, Michigan Democratic Party Black Caucus chair, said the party should promote reparations as an economic stimulus initiative.
Williams, who leads Detroit’s reparations task force, said Democrats hesitate to support reparations out of fear that it would alienate white working class voters. But he says the Biden campaign’s message isn’t landing with working class Black voters.
A reporter with Detroit IPTV asked Gilchrist about reparations, listing it among issues that Black voters care about but aren’t being addressed.
Gilchrist said forgiving student loan debt is a form of reparations, since it’s disproportionately helped Black people. He also credited Biden with opening up more federal funding for small businesses and Black entrepreneurs.
Williams visibly balked at the answer, and later encouraged Biden campaign staff to start talking about reparations. He said “grad school” presentations aren’t resonating with younger voters.
“I’m telling you, if you start talking about checks and stimulus, you’re going to get excitement going,” Williams said. “(Democrats) are going to focus their communications on (capping) prescription drug (prices), stuff that seniors love. The average young brother is talking about stimulus.”
I also hit the streets Friday with Detroit PBS to interview residents about reparations for an upcoming report. We met Sebastian Jackson, who said he’s likely to vote for Biden after backing him in 2020 but isn’t happy about it.
“Trump is not the best option for our country at this time, but to be honest I don’t know if Biden is either,” Jackson said. “We have a choice of the lesser of two evils and that’s a difficult choice. Some people are opting out of having to make that choice.”
It’s America’s first election in more than a century where a former president and a current president are running against each other. Detroit remains a key Democratic stronghold in Michigan.
Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris visited Detroit in recent weeks to speak at fundraising dinners.
His campaign has a strong presence in Detroit. Biden supporters are hosting gatherings to highlight the president’s accomplishments and encourage voters to mobilize friends and family who might be sitting on the fence.
Earlier this month, Gilchrist said Trump doesn’t want to talk to Black voters directly. Trump’s campaign announced the Detroit visit a few days later.
Lorenzo Sewell, the senior pastor at 180 Church, said Biden and independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are also invited to meet with his congregation.
Trump will pitch himself to Detroiters during a roundtable discussion at the church then attend Turning Point USA’s the People’s Convention at downtown’s Huntington Place. Protesters are planning to demonstrate outside the downtown conference center, which played heavily into Trump’s false allegations of voter fraud.
Check back with BridgeDetroit this weekend for more coverage of Trump’s visit and how Detroiters are feeling about the upcoming election in November.
