‘Trump opens doors for us – the Democrats haven’t’: In Detroit, Harris faces a battle to win over young black men

Published

7 months ago

October 16, 2024

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Barack Obama’s message to “the brothers” late last week was blunt.

“I’m here to speak some truths, if you don’t mind,” the former president told a group of black voters.

“My understanding based on reports I’m getting from campaigns and communities is that we have not yet seen the same kind of energy and turnout in all quarters as we saw when I was running. Now, I also want to say that that seems to be more pronounced with the brothers.”

US election latest: Harris makes admission about election race

It was a direct message to focus minds. It reflected increasing angst within the Democratic Party about the “black vote”.

It also hinted at an arrogance – to assume people would vote for Kamala Harris just because she is black.

Mr Obama’s anxiety was an echo of new polling which suggests Ms Harris is drawing the black male vote by a much smaller margin than he did back in 2012. In fact, every election since Mr Obama’s first win has seen a shrinking black Democratic vote.

Drill down on the latest data, and it’s alarming reading for the Harris campaign.

It is clear black men, particularly young men, are increasingly turning to Donald Trump.

It’s by no means a majority of the demographic – most still vote Democrat – but in an election where the margins are so tight, even a moderate shift in voter behaviour in key swing states could make all the difference.

So what’s the draw to Mr Trump? Why is a man whose rhetoric can be racist and whose dog whistles are so often to the out-and-out bigots now apparently attractive to a growing number of America’s black community?

I think three words help to provide the answer – economics, disappointment, and change.

The pastor who believes Trump is the answer for America

In the northwestern suburbs of Detroit, Michigan, this week I met Lorenzo Sewell.

In July, I’d watched from among the crowd as the 43-year-old pastor addressed the Republican Party Convention in Milwaukee.

With church-gospel oratory, he’d told the crowd back then that Mr Trump was the answer for America.

Now, in his downtrodden community, he was giving me the tour which he said explains the shifting politics.

“This street tells the biggest story…” the pastor told me.

We walked down Grand River Avenue. And there wasn’t much grand about it, at least not along this part. North of gentrified downtown is uptown – forgotten.

“What you’ll see down Grand River is… I mean it’s so bad, it’s completely desolate. All black people. And then as soon as you get downtown, the racial dynamics change,” Mr Sewell said.

Pastor praised Trump for visiting ‘the hood’

The downtown area of Michigan’s largest city has seen massive regeneration over the past decade. It looks great but is unaffordable now for most who once lived here. And beyond downtown, many suburbs are crumbling and struggling.

“President Trump says Detroit needs help,” the pastor said. “This is it.”

Inside his church, Mr Sewell showed me the spot where he prayed with Mr Trump.

The former president paid a visit to the community back in June. In a video of the moment, which quickly went viral, the pastor praised Mr Trump for visiting “the hood”.

“President Trump, I am so humbled that you would be here,” he said back then in a crowded church. “President Obama never came to the hood so to speak… President Biden never came to the hood. So thank you.”

‘Life was better under President Trump’

Whether Mr Trump’s visit was opportunistic or sincere, it was unquestionably savvy and exposed the Democrats in a city they’ve run for decades. It sucked in the pastor. And the church was packed.

“He’s not a politician. I understand he may not be as polished as we want him to be, but just life was better under President Trump. Everybody knows it,” he said.

“Yeah, he has flaws, but to any black person out there who would say ‘Trump’s a racist, Trump’s a mean person’, I met him personally. I shook hands with him. I spent time with him.”

‘We need change’

“Trump opens doors for us. The Democrats haven’t,” he added, scathing of Mr Obama’s “brothers” comments.

“It’s almost like they want to seduce us with Obama. Do they think we don’t have political prowess? We may be poor and black, but that doesn’t mean we’re stupid,” he told me.

I suggested maybe he’s been hoodwinked by Mr Trump, who hardly oozes Christian values, whose rhetoric is so often laced with racism, and who has woefully underdelivered on policy pledges before.

“The reality is he is a businessman, and you build a relationship with him,” he replied. “I know in this community people are hurting. We have been under democratic rule for six decades. We need change. I know that under Trump, gas was cheaper. My bills were cheaper.”

‘Do they want to vote for the vice president or stay home?’

Further down Grand River Avenue, as uptown becomes downtown, the gentrification begins to shine through. In the shadows of the glitzy office buildings, I joined a gathering of Democratic Party faithful.

“Black Men For Harris” is the tag. The evening event, at a local sports bar, was billed as a show of support for Ms Harris.

“I think most black men in America are determining not, do they want to vote for Kamala or Trump? It’s do they want to vote for the vice president or stay home?” voter Jeff Johnson told me.

Among the small crowd, former state senator Marshall Bullock said: “It’s imperative that we win Michigan at all costs. And there’s really only one choice: Vice President Harris is the candidate of decency, integrity, and for the people.”

The problem is Ms Harris may be all of those things, but many people are voting on the economy, on lower taxes and with an eye on their back pocket. They may like the values of decency and integrity, but maybe they’re not going to pay for them.

“Life was cheaper, better under Trump.” That’s the echo I hear across swathes of America. A misguided nostalgia? Maybe. A concern for Ms Harris? For sure.

US

Mexican navy training vessel hits New York’s Brooklyn Bridge – as reports say three injured

Published

19 hours ago

May 18, 2025

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Mexican navy training vessel hits New York's Brooklyn Bridge - as reports say three injured

A Mexican navy ship has hit the Brooklyn Bridge during a promotional tour in New York City.

The New York Fire Department said authorities were responding to injuries but had no details about how many people might have been hurt or whether they were on the vessel or on the bridge.

Sky’s US partner network NBC News reports that at least three people were seriously injured in the incident.

The Mexican navy said in a post on X that the Cuauhtemoc, an academy training vessel, was damaged in the accident, which has prevented it from continuing its voyage.

Eyewitness video of the collision posted online showed the mast of the ship, which was flying a large Mexican flag, scraping the underneath of the bridge.

The vessel then drifted toward the edge of the river as onlookers scrambled away from shore.

The Mexican navy said the status of personnel and material was under review by naval and local authorities, which were providing assistance.

The Cuauhtemoc is about 297ft long and 40ft wide, according to the Mexican navy. It sailed for the first time in 1982.

Each year, it sets out at the end of classes at the naval military school to finish cadets’ training.

It left the Mexican port of Acapulco, on the Pacific coast, on 6 April with 277 people onboard, the navy said at the time.

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One person dead after explosion outside fertility clinic in California

Published

24 hours ago

May 17, 2025

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One person dead after explosion outside fertility clinic in California

One person has died in a bomb explosion near a reproductive health clinic in California, authorities have said.

The incident took place in Palm Springs, a city two hours east of Los Angeles, and is being investigated as a possible car explosion.

The city’s mayor Ron DeHarte said one person died in the blast, adding that the bomb was “either in or near” a vehicle. The deceased’s identity is not known, Palm Springs police said.

Dr Maher Abdallah, who runs the American Reproductive Centers clinic, told the Associated Press his facility was damaged but all staff were safe and accounted for.

The explosion damaged the office space where the practice conducts patient consultations, but the IVF lab and stored embryos were unharmed, he added.

“I really have no clue what happened,” he said. “Thank God today happened to be a day that we have no patients.”

In a statement posted on Facebook the clinic said it was “heartbroken” to learn someone died in the explosion and added: “Our deepest condolences go out to the individuals and families affected.”

It continued: “Our mission has always been to help build families, and in times like these, we are reminded of just how fragile and precious life is.

“In the face of this tragedy, we remain committed to creating hope – because we believe that healing begins with community, compassion, and care.

The clinic will be fully operational on Monday, it added.

“This moment has shaken us – but it has not stopped us. We will continue to serve with strength, love, and the hope that brings new life into the world,” the statement concluded.

The Palm Springs city government said in a post on Facebook that the explosion happened on North Indian Canyon Drive, near East Tachevah Drive, before 11am local time (6pm GMT).

A burned-out car can be seen in a parking lot behind the building in aerial footage.

The blast caved in the clinic’s roof and blew debris across four lanes of the road.

Another person said he was inside a cannabis dispensary nearby when he felt a massive explosion.

Nima Tabrizi said: “The building just shook, and we go outside and there’s massive cloud smoke.”

Investigators from the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are travelling to the scene to help assess what happened.

California governor Gavin Newsom has been briefed on the explosion, his press office said.

US

James Comey: Trump says ex-FBI director’s seashells post ‘meant assassination’

Published

1 day ago

May 17, 2025

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James Comey: Trump says ex-FBI director's seashells post 'meant assassination'

A former FBI director has been interviewed by the US Secret Service over a social media post that Republicans say was a call for violence against President Donald Trump.

James Comey, who led the FBI from 2013 until he was fired in 2017 by Mr Trump during his first term in office, shared a photo of seashells appearing to form the numbers “86 47”.

He captioned the Instagram post: “Cool shell formation on my beach walk.”

Some have interpreted the post as a threat, alleging that 86 47 means to violently remove Mr Trump from office, including by assassination.

What does ’86 47′ mean?

The number 86 can be used as a verb in the US. It commonly means “to throw somebody out of a bar for being drunk or disorderly”.

One recent meaning of the term is “to kill”, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, which said it had not adopted this meaning of 86 “due to its relative recency and sparseness of use”.

The number has previously been used in a political context by Matt Gaetz, who was President Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general but withdrew from consideration following a series of sexual misconduct allegations.

Mr Gaetz wrote: “We’ve now 86’d…” and listed political opponents he had sparred with who ended up stepping down.

Meanwhile, 47 is supposedly representing Mr Trump, who is the 47th US president.

Mr Comey later removed the post, saying he thought the numbers “were a political message” and that he was not aware that the numeric arrangement could be associated with violence.

“I didn’t realise some folks associate those numbers with violence. It never occurred to me, but I oppose violence of any kind, so I took the post down,” Mr Comey said.

Mr Trump rejected the former FBI director’s explanation, telling Fox News: “He knew exactly what that meant. A child knows what that meant… that meant assassination.”

Donald Trump Jr accused Mr Comey of “casually calling for my dad to be murdered”.

US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed in a post on X that Mr Comey had been interviewed as part of “an ongoing investigation” but gave no indication of whether he might face further action.

The Secret Service is part of the Department of Homeland Security.

White House deputy chief of staff Taylor Budowich said Mr Comey had put out “what can clearly be interpreted as a hit on the sitting president of the United States”.

“This is deeply concerning to all of us and is being taken seriously,” Mr Budowich wrote on X.

Another White House official James Blair said the post was a “Clarion Call (…) to terrorists & hostile regimes to kill the President of the United States as he travels in the Middle East”.

Mr Trump fired Mr Comey in May 2017 for botching an investigation into 2016 democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, the White House said at the time.

While Mr Comey was the director of the FBI, the agency opened an investigation into possible collusion between the Trump 2016 presidential campaign and Russia to help get Mr Trump elected.