Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump held dueling campaign events in battleground Michigan today, stepping up their attacks with 18 days remaining until November 5th.
In an afternoon speech in Grand Rapids, Harris criticized Trump’s record in the auto industry and warned that Trump was making “empty promises” to workers in the Wolverine State. She touted the Biden administration’s efforts to preserve 650 union jobs at the Grand River Assembly plant in Lansing. The government provided $500 million in grants to convert factories to electric vehicle production, money from the Inflation Control Act of 2022, and $1.7 billion to expand EV production at 11 factories. It was part of a larger plan. Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. J.D. Vance earlier this month called the Lansing grant “table scraps.”
Harris fired back in her speech. “We fought hard for those jobs, and we believe you deserve a president who will protect them, not demean them. And don’t get me wrong, Donald. Trump is no friend of workers,” she said. “He is no friend of workers. Look at his record, not his rhetoric. Look at his record and don’t be fooled by the old Okye-edoke.”
Two days before her 60th birthday, Harris also reportedly questioned whether the 78-year-old former president is fit for a second term after declining several scheduled appearances. An adviser to President Trump reportedly said the Republican candidate is “exhausted.” The Trump campaign denies it. President Trump has not released his medical records, despite saying in August that he would be “willing to do so.”
“You know, being the president of the United States is probably one of the hardest jobs in the world. So we’re trying to make sure he’s not exhausted by campaigning and whether he’s the right person to do the job. You have to seriously ask yourself,” Harris told reporters before taking the stage in Grand Rapids.
President Trump has held several events of his own in Michigan, including a recent return to Detroit where he compared the city to a “developing country.” He denied being exhausted. “I’m not even tired. I’m really excited. You know why? We’re killing her in the polls because the American people don’t want her,” Trump told reporters.
He also joined “Fox & Friends” in the morning after giving a brash and insult-filled speech at the famed Al Smith dinner in New York Thursday night. Harris, contrary to tradition, skipped the dinner, choosing instead to send a pre-recorded video and campaign in Wisconsin.
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