‘Trump opens doors for us – the Democrats haven’t’: In Detroit, Harris faces a battle to win over young black men
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
Former president Barack Obama speaks to a group of black voters
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.
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‘It was my economy, not Trump’s!’
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.
Lorenzo Sewell
“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.”
Lorenzo Sewell (right) praises Donald Trump for visiting ‘the hood’
‘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.”
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Who is winning the swing states?
‘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.
Jeff Johnson
“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.”
Former state senator Marshall Bullock
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.
Virginia Giuffre, who accused Prince Andrew of sexual assault, has died aged 41.
In a statement to Sky’s US partner network NBC News on Friday, her family said she took her own life in the Perth suburb of Neergabby, Australia, where she had been living for several years.
“It is with utterly broken hearts that we announce that Virginia passed away last night at her farm in Western Australia,” her family said.
“She lost her life to suicide, after being a lifelong victim of sexual abuse and sex trafficking.
“Virginia was a fierce warrior in the fight against sexual abuse and sex trafficking. She was the light that lifted so many survivors.
“In the end, the toll of abuse is so heavy that it became unbearable for Virginia to handle its weight.”
Pic: AP
Police said emergency services received reports of an unresponsive woman at a property in Neergabby on Friday night.
“Police and St John Western Australia attended and provided emergency first aid. Sadly, the 41-year-old woman was declared deceased at the scene,” a police spokeswoman said.
“The death is being investigated by Major Crime detectives; early indication is the death is not suspicious.”
Sexual assault claims
Prince Andrew has denied all claims of wrongdoing. File pic: Reuters
Ms Giuffre sued the Duke of York for sexual abuse in August 2021, saying Andrew had sex with her when she was 17 and had been trafficked by his friend, the billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
The duke has repeatedly denied the claims, and he has not been charged with any criminal offences.
In March 2022, it was announced Ms Giuffre and Andrew had reached an out-of-court settlement – believed to include a “substantial donation to Ms Giuffre’s charity in support of victims’ rights”.
‘An incredible champion’
Sigrid McCawley, Ms Giuffre’s attorney, said in a statement that she “was much more than a client to me; she was a dear friend and an incredible champion for other victims”.
“Her courage pushed me to fight harder, and her strength was awe-inspiring,” she said. “The world has lost an amazing human being today.”
“Rest in peace, my sweet angel,” she added.
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
Dini von Mueffling, Ms Giuffre’s representative, also said that “Virginia was one of the most extraordinary human beings I have ever had the honour to know”.
“Deeply loving, wise, and funny, she was a beacon to other survivors and victims,” she added. “She adored her children and many animals.
“She was always more concerned with me than with herself. I will miss her beyond words.
“It was the privilege of a lifetime to represent her.”
Ms Giuffre said at the end of March she had four days to live after a car accident, posting on social media that “I’ve gone into kidney renal failure”. She was discharged from hospital eight days later.
Raised mainly in Florida, she said she was abused by a family friend early in life, which led to her living on the streets at times as a teenager.
She said that in 2000, she met Ghislaine Maxwell, a British socialite who was convicted in 2021 on federal sex trafficking and conspiracy charges and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein. Pic: US Department of Justice
Ms Giuffre said Maxwell then introduced her to Epstein and hired her as his masseuse, and said she was sex trafficked and sexually abused by him and associates around the world.
‘A survivor’
After meeting her husband in 2002, while taking massage training in Thailand at what she said was Epstein’s behest, she moved to Australia and had a family.
She founded the sex trafficking victims’ advocacy charity SOAR in 2015, and is quoted on its website as saying: “I do this for victims everywhere.
“I am no longer the young and vulnerable girl who could be bullied. I am now a survivor, and nobody can ever take that away from me.”
:: Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.
Donald Trump has met Volodymyr Zelenskyy ahead of the Pope’s funeral, Vatican sources have told Sky News.
The US and Ukrainian presidents had a “very productive discussion”, according to a White House Official, and have also agreed to hold further talks after the service.
They are among world leaders, including Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron, who are attending the funeral of Pope Francis.
Follow live updates: Zelenskyy among world leaders joining thousands of mourners
There was applause from some of those gathered in St Peter’s Square when the Ukrainian leader walked out.
The former British ambassador to Russia Sir Tony Brenton said the event presents diplomatic opportunities, including the “biggest possible meeting” between Mr Trump and Mr Zelenskyy.
Trump and Zelenskyy meet for first time since Oval Office row. Pic: Reuters
He told Sky News it could mark “an important step” in starting the peace process between Russia and Ukraine, and is their first face-to-face meeting after a very public row between the presidents at the White House in February.
The bilateral meeting comes after Mr Trump’s peace negotiator Steve Witkoff held talks with Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin.
They discussed “the possibility of resuming direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine”, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said.
Russia and Ukraine have not held direct talks since the early weeks of the war, which began in February 2022.
Mr Trump has claimed a deal to end the war is “very close” and has urged Mr Zelenskyy to “get it done” in a post on his Truth Social platform.
He has previously warned both sides his administration would walk away from its efforts to achieve a peace if the two sides do not agree a deal soon.
Meanwhile, the Polish Armed Forces said a Russian military helicopter violated its airspace over the Baltic Sea on Friday evening, in a post on X.
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US
Donald Trump says Russia and Ukraine are ‘very close to a deal’ – and says ‘two sides should now meet’
Donald Trump has said Russia and Ukraine are “very close to a deal” with “most of the major points agreed” – as he called for the two sides to meet.
Shortly after arriving in Rome for Pope Francis’s funeral, the US president said high-level officials should now meet to “finish [the deal] off”.
“A good day in talks and meetings with Russia and Ukraine,” Mr Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
“They are very close to a deal, and the two sides should now meet, at very high levels, to ‘finish it off’.
“Most of the major points are agreed to. Stop the bloodshed, NOW. We will be wherever is necessary to help facilitate the END to this cruel and senseless war!”
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Ukraine-Russia peace talks explained
Throughout the week, the US president has criticised both Ukraine and Russia for failing to agree to a peace deal.
On Wednesday, he accused Mr Zelenskyy of harming talks on Truth Social, saying “the man with ‘no cards to play’ should now, finally, GET IT DONE”.
A day later, after nine people were killed in Kyiv after a Russian missile and drone strike, Mr Trump said: “Vladimir, STOP! 5000 soldiers a week are dying. Let’s get the Peace Deal DONE!”
The president and other officials have also threatened to withdraw from negotiations if no progress is made toward a deal.
It comes after Mr Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff met Vladimir Putin in Moscow to discuss a US-brokered peace plan for Ukraine.
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Putin-Witkoff meeting
The talks allowed Russia and the United States to “further bring their positions closer together” on “a number of international issues”, a Kremlin aide said.
Speaking earlier on the flight to Italy, Mr Trump said he hadn’t been fully briefed on Mr Witkoff and Mr Putin’s meeting – but added it was a “pretty good meeting”.
Read more:
US and Russia talks moving in ‘right direction’, top diplomat says
A ‘barbaric’ 24 hours in a ‘horrendous’ war
Russia and Ukraine have not held direct talks since the early weeks of the war, which began in February 2022.
Ukraine has repeatedly said it would not accept a deal conceding land or handing over sovereignty to Russia.
However, Mr Trump said in an interview with TIME magazine that “Crimea will stay with Russia,” describing the region as a place where Moscow has “had their submarines” and “the people speak largely Russian”.
“Zelenskyy understands that, and everybody understands that it’s been with them for a long time,” he added. “It’s been with them long before Trump came along.”
When asked on Friday about Mr Trump’s comments, Mr Zelenskyy did not want to comment but repeated that recognising occupied Ukrainian territory as Russian is a red line.
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