JD Vance to supporters in Detroit: “We have the power of the people”

DETROIT (FOX 2) – JD Vance made his first visit to Detroit on Tuesday, speaking to supporters at Eastern Market and making similar comments to his previous visits.

He touched on electric vehicles and automobile manufacturing, encouraged voters to cast their ballots early and heaped praise on his Vice President Donald Trump. He also made a prediction about his trips to the state.

“I’ll be in Michigan about 30 times,” he joked.

His campaign stop was the eighth since Trump was chosen as vice president, and with less than a month until the election, it likely won’t be his last. The stop comes less than a week after the Ohio senator and vice presidential candidate visited Auburn Hills and Marne.

Michigan’s 15 electoral votes and its status as a battleground make it a key state to win for both Trump and his Democratic opponent Kamala Harris.

Detroit and Wayne County have been Democratic strongholds for years and could be the key to victory in Michigan if Republicans can convince voters to support them. However, the city was also a target of the former president, who described the city as “corrupt” while providing inaccurate information about vote counting in the 2020 election.

Trump continues to claim he won the 2020 election despite there being no evidence of voter fraud and nationwide audits confirming the race was safe and accurate.

During Vance’s visit, he was asked whether a former campaign manager had encouraged his supporters to “riot” while votes were being counted at the TCF Center the day after the November 2020 election.

“Nobody in this room and nobody in this movement is going to riot,” he said.

The vice president also praised Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s support of the campaign and claimed that his statements about misusing disaster aid for migrants rather than Hurricane Helene victims affected the administration’s response as a whole.

Aside from visiting Auburn Hills and a stop in Shelby Township during the summer, Vance focused most of his time on Michigan’s western and northern parts of the state, where he made numerous stops.

While in Auburn Hills, where he spoke at an aerospace company, Vance covered a range of topics, from his dispute with Tim Walz to Michigan manufacturing to electric vehicles and China. He also answered questions from reporters, including about regulations and incentives for battery-powered cars and trucks.

Vance’s vice president, former President Donald Trump, will also be in Detroit this week to speak at the Detroit Economic Club on Thursday.

Tuesday’s visit and all future visits come as voters in Michigan have already begun voting. Mail-in ballots have been sent to voters since late September, and early voting will begin soon.