If you like your Labor Day weekend with a side of politics, Michigan is the place to be. Parties big and small will be in the state trying to shore up Michigan votes.
In an effort to woo African American voters, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump will be in Detroit on Saturday. Trump is expected to attend a service at Great Faith Ministries and sit down for an interview with senior pastor Bishop Wayne T. Jackson for his Christian cable channel, Impact Network. The New York Times reports that Trump will also speak briefly to the congregation, and take a tour of Detroit neighborhoods with former campaign rival and Detroit native Dr. Ben Carson.
Trump’s visit to the largely African-American congregation comes as national polls show him in the single digits among black voters.
Linda Lee Tarver is a Trump state co-chair and longtime Republican activist. She says Trump has a history of investing in the black community and he isn’t just in town to get votes.
“He has a track record of building wealth, of investing in people, of looking at talent, of developing talent, of uplifting communities,” she said. “And that is the president that we need.”
Critics of Trump’s campaign tell a different story. Benny Napoleon is the Wayne County Sheriff who also served as chair of the Michigan Civil Rights Commission. He says Trump’s history shows a candidate against the African-American community.
“No matter what Donald Trump says when he arrives, there is no pivot,” Napoleon said. “There is no new Donald Trump. He is the same divisive and extreme Republican presidential candidate he’s always been.”
If you like your politics in a color besides red and blue, the Green Party candidate will be stopping in Detroit as well. Taking a more traditional approach than Trump, Dr. Jill Stein will be speaking at a rally that includes musical performances and speeches by several Michigan Green Party activists and candidates.
LuAnne Kozma is Michigan’s Green Party volunteer coordinator. She says the Republican and Democratic parties don’t own your vote.
“So we’re not the two party corporate parties at all,” she said. “So when people are looking for a better way out of the mess that we’re in, the Green Party is a fantastic choice.”
If you still have some energy left come Monday, former President Bill Clinton is expected to be in Michigan, though details surrounding his visit have yet to be announced.
