GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — Kamala Harris and Donald Trump both scoured for votes in Michigan on Friday as they try to lock down support in this key political battleground.
Watch Trump’s remarks in the player above.
The Republican nominee visited a new campaign office in Hamtramck, one of the nation’s only Muslim-majority cities, and was joined there by Mayor Amer Ghalib, a Democrat who has endorsed Trump. Meanwhile, three city council members in the same town have endorsed Harris.
“His visit today is to show respect and appreciation to our community,” said Ghalib, who presented Trump with a framed certificate of appreciation.
WATCH: Harris and Trump court voters, make jabs at each other ahead of early voting in Michigan
Michigan is one of three “blue wall” states that, along with Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, will help decide the election, and the diverse voting blocs are key to winning the state. Both Trump and Harris, his Democratic rival, made a push for union workers and Black voters as they worked every angle for support.
Trump has tried to capitalize on frustration with Harris over the U.S. backing of Israel’s offensive in Gaza and its invasion of Lebanon, following the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas on Israel.
His allies have held meetings for months with community leaders in Michigan, which has a sizable population of Arab Americans, particularly in and around Detroit. Asked about the Hamtramck mayor’s endorsement, Trump said: “I mean, frankly, it’s an honor. I’ve got a lot of endorsements, Arab Americans, from a lot of people.”
Trump said he didn’t think the Arab American community would vote for Harris “because she doesn’t know what she’s doing.”
At the campaign office, Trump said he was also getting support from unions and that the head of the United Auto Workers — who has endorsed Harris — doesn’t have a clue.
“I’ve saved Michigan,” he said, telling the crowds he would bring back more manufacturing. “We’ll end up having those plants built over here instead of in other countries.”
Trump also said that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, one of the architects of the Oct. 7 attack, who was killed by Israelis, “was not a good person.”
“That’s my reaction. That’s sometimes what happens,” he told reporters at the airport in Detroit.
Trump also said he would speak to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He said President Joe Biden “is trying to hold him back … he probably should be doing the opposite, actually.”
Both Biden and Harris have said Sinwar’s death is an opportunity to stop the violence.
Price reported from Detroit, and Cappelletti reported from Lansing, Michigan. Associated Press writers Steve Peoples in New York; Isabella Volmert in Grand Rapids, Michigan; Colleen Long in Washington; and Scott Bauer in Milwaukee contributed to this report.
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