Harris ad bashes Trump for criticizing Detroit

Vice President Harris’s campaign released an ad titled “Like Detroit” on Friday, criticizing former President Trump for his unfavorable comments about the city.

“They said we were dead. That our best days were behind us,” said Courtney B. Vance, a Detroit native and Emmy Award-winning actor, overtop of Diane Sawyer’s reporting. “That living here is like living in hell. But you know what we said? We said, [record scratch noise] that. We rebuilt ourselves.”

The video was funded by the Harris-Walz $370 million fall ad campaign to punch back at Trump’s claims that the city is a “mess” while showcasing the historical feats of Motor City.

“We are a city of winners, of up-and-comers, of builders. The Motor City. Bigger and better. Here, we believe in freedom,” Vance added, flashing reels of the city’s famed boxer Joe Louis and clips from auto factories. “We don’t bow down to nobody, and we never will.”

“And what Donald Trump doesn’t understand, or care to learn, is that when he said, ‘Our whole country will end up being like Detroit if she’s your president.’ That he should be so goddamn lucky,” he concluded.

The video will air in Michigan markets during the Detroit Tigers game on Saturday and the Lions game on Sunday. The original post on X from Ammar Mousa, the campaign’s director of rapid response, came after a post from the state’s governor who said voters “won’t forget” Trump’s words in November.

“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,” Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) wrote. 

Harris’s running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D), who was campaigning in Michigan on Friday, said the city is experiencing an “American comeback.”

“Maybe if the guy would’ve ever spent any time in the Midwest, like all of us know, he’d know Detroit is experiencing an American comeback and renaissance,” Walz said. “City’s growing, crime is down, factories are opening up. But those guys, all they know about manufacturing is manufacturing bulls‑‑‑.”

Trump is leading in Michigan by 0.8 percentage points based on 52 polls measured by Decision Desk HQ and The Hill. The Great Lakes State is a key battleground state that will help determine the election outcome in November.