Opinion: Trump takes a shot at Detroit, in Detroit. The joke's on him.

Donald Trump loves a good roast.

He bestows nicknames on his political opponents. Sleepy Joe Biden. Ron DeSanctimonious.

He performs brief imitations of Kamala Harris and others onstage in the middle of stump speeches.

He sat through his own roast on Comedy Central back in 2011 . And just this week, he appeared on the comedy podcast “Flagrant,” appearing to feel right at home surrounded by a group of men who make fun of each other for a living.

It may be the key to his baffling popularity.

So it was no surprise Thursday when he called Michigan’s political leaders “stupid,” popular union boss Shawn Fain a “disaster,” Harris a “lunatic” and the U.S. itself “the dumb country" during a speech at a Detroit Economic Club meeting held at Detroit's Motor City Casino.

Then came an attempt at an off-the-cuff jab at Detroit . This one didn’t land.

It was a friendly crowd of about 1,000 Econ Club members, and their guests, in suits. When he first took the stage, the crowd politely waited and cheered intermittently as he stood awkwardly while Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the U.S.A." played in its three-minute entirety.

They laughed and applauded at most of his punchlines — but stayed silent for this dire forecast of life under a President Harris:

"The whole country is going to be like — you want to know the truth? It'll be like Detroit,” the former president said. “Our whole country will end up being like Detroit if she's your president. You're going to have a mess on your hands."

Well, as it so often is, the joke’s on him.

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They should be so lucky

Trump did not elaborate on what he meant. But he did spend much of his rambling, 100-minute speech talking about all the Chinese and Mexican factories he’s going to bring to Michigan if elected. All the tariffs he’s going to impose to keep Chinese cars from dominating the market. How he’s going to rescue a pathetic auto industry. (You know, the one that declined during his presidency , and rebounded during Biden's.)

It's clear, by the context of his comments, that he views Detroit as some sort of dystopian hellscape.

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan was quick to respond:

“Detroit just hosted the largest NFL Draft in history, the Tigers are back in the playoffs, the Lions are headed to the Super Bowl, crime is down and our population is growing,” Duggan said via the social media platform X . “Lots of cities should be like Detroit. And we did it all without Trump’s help.”

Michigan House Speaker Joe Tate wasn’t amused, either.

“Donald Trump might not remember where he is right now so here’s a quick reminder about what Detroit’s all about,” Tate posted to X . “This is the greatest city in the country & we’ve bounced back after Trump killed our jobs, closed our businesses, & tried to throw out our votes. #Detroit threw Trump out of the White House last time and we’ll do it again.”

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Detroit is the place to be — but Trump can stay away

What Trump doesn’t seem to know, and likely never will, is that any city would be lucky to bear the slightest resemblance to Detroit, with all its cultural influence, its promise, opportunity and unmatched propensity for neighbors looking after each other.

Relatively affordable housing, compared to much of the rest of the country, or even the state. World-class museums, restaurants and architecture. Massive parks. Beautiful turnkey homes ready for new occupants, aging homes in need of loving repair, and established communities of tight-knit neighbors. Large swaths of land ready to be developed, farmed or left to nature.

Sports teams that sell out stadiums even when they stink, and captivate the world when they win.

Detroit is the place to be, and it’s probably best that it’s kept somewhat of a secret.

But there’s no letting a slight like that from a candidate for president slide.

As a matter of fact, Detroit actually did inspire a part of Harris' economic plan. Harris announced in August a proposal to provide up to $25,000 in down payment assistance to first-time home buyers.

We’re already doing that. Detroit’s program served as a model for the national initiative, according to Duggan.

Trump — who also suggested Thursday that “quick trials” and the death penalty is the only effective way to address drug trafficking — for all his flaws, is pretty good at infusing humor into dark and depraved political discourse.

But the laughter stops when he takes aim at the very city he’s trying to woo with tired old jokes that rely on the presumption that the Motor City died off long ago.

Perhaps, if the former president doesn’t think too highly of Michigan’s largest city, he might consider not visiting so often.

Khalil AlHajal is deputy editorial page editor of the Detroit Free Press and a proud Detroiter. Contact: kalhajal@freepress.com. Submit a letter to the editor at freep.com/letters and we may publish it online and in print.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Opinion: Trump takes a shot at Detroit, in Detroit. The joke's on him.