Former President Donald Trump sought to bring together various parts of his coalition during an Oakland County roundtable Friday evening.
The talk included a New York businessman, representatives of the law enforcement community and members of the United Auto Workers and Teamsters unions. Each was there to highlight a different part of the Republican candidate's campaign messaging.
For the union workers, Trump discussed his plans for U.S. trade policy should he win back the White House.
Trump has been using promises to jack up tariffs to appeal to autoworkers in particular. He says raising taxes on imported goods would boost the auto industry.
“The higher it goes, the more likely it is that they build in this country,” Trump said.
Presidential campaigns spend a lot of time in Michigan.
Whichever candidate gets the most statewide votes wins all of Michigan's 15 coveted electoral votes. Kamala Harris (D) and Donald Trump (R) are nearly tied in most polls of the state's voters.
The map below shows where we know candidates (and some surrogates) have publicly appeared in Michigan since July 15, 2024.
The height of each county on the map represents the number of voters in the 2020 presidential election.
The colors of each county show which party had the lead in votes and how big the lead was. Dark red means Republicans had a big lead and dark blue means the same for Democrats. Counties that look almost white had both parties nearly tied.
Sources: CQ Press Voting and Elections Collection, Geocodio, Candidate visit information from campaign communications and reports from Michigan Public and other news organizations. • Data visualization and analysis by Adam Yahya Rayes and Zoe Clark | Michigan Public. • Visit marker locations are not exact. • Last update: Nov. 5, 2024.
His Democratic opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, is also promoting some tariffs, including a 100% tariff on Chinese electric vehicle imports.
Economists take a mixed view of tariffs, saying they can protect domestic industries, but companies could just pass the cost of the tariffs along to consumers rather than eating those extra costs themselves. Harris has characterized Trump's heavy tariff plan as, effectively, a national sales tax.
For law enforcement, Trump renewed his “tough-on-crime” messaging. He called for the death penalty against people convicted in the deaths of police officers, and for greater support for law enforcement indicted for alleged crimes while on duty.
Trump said police should have greater shields from prosecution.
“You have a quarter of a second to make a decision and if it’s the wrong decision, your life is over. So, we’re going to do the immunity thing and we’re going to fight alongside them. We have to stop being so politically correct,” Trump said, presumably referring to the legal doctrine of qualified immunity while speaking with Police Officers Association of Michigan President Jim Tignanelli.
Qualified immunity has been criticized as shielding police officers from accountability when they’re involved in shootings or deaths of suspects.
During the discussion, Trump asked Tignanelli how many he felt were innocent out of the 16 officers that Tignarelli estimates are facing indictment in Michigan.
“Innocent, innocent? Probably about 10 of them,” Tignanelli responded.
Aside from the business and blue-collar worker communities, the roundtable also featured someone from Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s former Make America Healthy Again coalition.
Kennedy, who’s still appearing on the ballot in Michigan, tried to end his campaign in states where he thought his candidacy would hurt Trump.
Nancy Jaafar owns a wellness center in Dearborn. She said the Kennedy messaging made her feel a “glimmer of hope.”
“I have to say I am genuinely terrified for humanity in general. The world needs healing and I can only hope that you and your campaign are the catalysts for that,” Jaafar said.
While Trump campaigned Friday in Auburn Hills and Detroit, Harris was crossing the state trying to build her own coalition.
The Harris campaign has been working to bring together supporters including union members, women, and conservatives who worry about a second Trump presidency.
Both campaigns see Michigan as a critical state in their bids for the White House. Harris is in Detroit Saturday to rally supporters on the first day of early voting in the city.
