Detroit is a class divide: Donald Trump’s felony convictions are not a problem of life for blue-collar city dwellers
The felony convictions of Trump might cause problems in the suburbs. But for tens of thousands of blue-collar city dwellers, a felony is just a fact of life.
The Michigan Republican Party is leaning into this and even enlisted former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, who served time in federal prison for corruption, to speak for Trump as a man who gives second chances. Trump commuted Kilpatrick’s 28-year prison sentence in 2021.
Michigan became the first state in the nation to pass a law that automaticallyregisters people who emerge from prison to vote last year, and a lot of grass-roots effort goes on in Detroit to make sure they do. The former inmates don’t like the idea of electing a prosecutor because they are often unable to get jobs and housing. Every time Harris calls Trump a felon, that’s a “a reminder of what she thinks of us,” one man who is trying to rebuild his life after a prison sentence told me.
Another reason comes to mind. At one time or another, many blue-collar residents of Detroit went to prison, instead of going to college. In the aftermath of mass incarceration, there are more than 100,000 adults in Detroit who have been convicted of a felony, and some 19 million around the country. There are many people in a state that Trump won by less than 11,000 votes.
She mentioned that a hairdresser, a landscapers, and a former flight attendant were voting for Donald Trump, and that we seem to be in a class divide. She’s been giving out Harris pins and wristbands. She said that she had people give it back to her. She speculated that the celebrities that Trump surrounds himself with might have something to do with his blue-collar appeal. At a rally in Detroit last week, Trump brought the rapper Trick Trick and the former boxer Thomas Hearns onstage.
“I think, come Election Day, those who turn out will overwhelmingly vote for Harris,” she said. “But I do think there’s a generational moment in Black communities where young people are saying, ‘the Democrats haven’t done enough for Black people.”
There was a good ad. In the city, there is an economic and educational class divide that is not good for the Harris campaign.
Detroit has been getting a lot of love lately. It seems like a day does not go by that Kamala Harris isn’t appearing there with Lizzo or Oprah or Barack Obama. Donald Trump has been there a lot, even if his message is off-key, and he warned Detroit residents that if Hillary Clinton is elected, our entire country will end up being like Detroit. Harris quickly turned that into an ad that focuses on the city’s pride, resilience and remarkable comeback.
When Vice President Harris took over the Democratic ticket this summer, her candidacy brought viral memes, packed rallies and a boost in the polls. Young Americans, a key Democratic-leaning group, had to struggle with before President Biden dropped out.
A new poll shows that the early enthusiasm around Harris may be wearing off among young voters by the time voting closes on Election Day.
Harris and Trump are virtually tied among young white Americans — the only group, under 45, that Trump won in 2020 — but the former president now holds a slight edge that is within the margin of error among young white women.
The survey, which was exclusively obtained by NPR, polled more than 2,300 white, Black, Latino and Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI,) individuals under the age of 40 from Sept. 26 to Oct. 6.
Many voters who are Democrats believe the threat of Trump is imminent but I am not sure young people think that is true, saidCathy Cohen, the Executive Director of the GenForward poll.
The poll shows a picture of support for Harris that is complicated by race and ethnicity.
Among young Black women, just 12% said they were supporting Trump, but an additional 16% said they wanted “someone else” when given the options of Trump, Harris and a handful of third party candidates.
A large part of Trump’s campaign outreach to young voters has been grounded as a result of him appearing with a number of popular male hosts.
It’s an issue Harris has heavily campaigned on, given safeguarding access to the procedure has previously driven youth turnout. She also leads Trump in young voter trust on issues related to racism and inequality, providing housing opportunities and protecting democracy.
Cohen said that many could see Harris attached to a Biden administration that didn’t handle inflation.
That’s significant because as with older voters, economic concerns remain the most important election issue for Americans under 40, according to the survey.
Instead, a third of respondents in the poll said they still want to learn more — particularly young Americans of color — presenting an opportunity for the Harris campaign to potentially pick up more votes, but the clock is ticking.