Trump insults Detroit while campaigning in Detroit: ‘Want to know the truth?’

Donald Trump’s recent attack on Kamala Harris has backfired on him. On Thursday, the former president delivered remarks at the Detroit Economic Club as part of his campaign trail. During his speech, he aimed to take a not-so-calculated swipe at the vice president and ended up insulting the entire city of Detroit.

Trump thrashes Detroit while campaigning in the city

The GOP presidential nominee said during his address at the non-profit organisation in Michigan, “You want to know the truth?” “It’ll be like Detroit. Our whole country will end up being like Detroit if she’s your president. You’re gonna have a mess on your hands,” he added, per Washington Post. Trump quickly drew flak online for insulting the same city where he was campaigning.

Mike Duggan, the city’s Democratic mayor, took to X, formerly Twitter, to call out the Republican candidate. “Detroit just hosted the largest NFL Draft in history, the Tigers are back in the playoffs, the Lions are headed to the Super Bowl, crime is down and our population is growing. Lots of cities should be like Detroit. And we did it all without Trump’s help,” he wrote.

Detroit residents joined Duggan in bashing the former president for his crude remarks about their city. “Detroit has come a long way & we are proud of our city,” wrote one user. “I’ve pretty much lived my entire eighty years in the Detroit metro area. I have never experienced what Detroit is experiencing right now. I’m absolutely loving all of it. What a great city with wonderful Detroiters. Respecting all who made this happen,” said another.

Meanwhile, Gretchen Whitmer, Michigan’s Democratic governor, also took to the social media platform to fire back at Trump. “Detroit is the epitome of “grit,” defined by winners willing to get their hands dirty to build up their city and create their communities—something Donald Trump could never understand. So keep Detroit out of your mouth. And you better believe Detroiters won’t forget this in November,” Whitmer wrote.