Biden’s campaign reconstruction tour comes to Detroit

DETROIT, MI — President Joe Biden delivered a 35-minute campaign speech to more than 2,000 supporters at Renaissance High School in Detroit on Friday, July 12, as part of his public speaking and physical presence in the increasing public spotlight.

The Democrat appeared motivated by the almost exclusively Biden-supporting crowd and repeated political messages familiar to people who have closely followed the president’s recent two-week rallies in American swing states.

Following his performance at a debate last month, many leading Democrats called on Biden to end his candidacy to avoid risking defeat to his Republican opponent Donald Trump, and the president has now called on his supporters to remain united ahead of the November election.

This appearance at the debate caused concern among his supporters, who noticed the 81-year-old’s calm, weak expression and verbal blunders.

However, Biden appeared to deliver his remarks on Friday with a volume and confidence that did not match his performance at the highly publicized debate – although this time, unlike at the debate, Biden had access to teleprompters often used at rallies by politicians, including Trump.

“Motown is ‘Joetown,'” Biden said, beginning his remarks by reading a sign he spotted in the venue.

Biden responded immediately to calls for him to withdraw as a candidate and reiterated his intention to stay in the race.

“I’m running, and we’re going to win,” Biden said. “Trump is a loser. I’m the nominee of this party because of you, the voters. Nobody else. And I’m not going anywhere. I learned a long time ago that when you get knocked down, you get back up.”

Biden’s address on Friday addressed issues that went beyond his own campaign challenges.

He championed abortion rights, boasted of promising economic numbers, promised to strengthen civil rights, expressed support for unions, explained his plans to ban assault rifles and stoked fears about “Project 2025.” The nearly 1,000-page manual — written in part by former Trump White House staffers — has drawn criticism in recent weeks from Democrats who claim that if implemented during a second Trump term, the document would radically reshape public infrastructure, including by eliminating thousands of government jobs.

Biden spent a long portion of his speech warning the crowd against sending Trump back to the White House, which he occupied as president from 2017 to 2021.

“Trump is even more dangerous now,” Biden said. “He’s crazy. He says if he loses, there will be bloodshed. Trump says if he wins, he’ll be a dictator from day one. We won’t allow that. Over my dead body.”

Biden said Trump’s election would further undermine public confidence in the American electoral system.

“We will stand up for America and save our democracy,” Biden said.

The president referred to the attack on January 6, 2021, in which hundreds of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol and, in brutal hand-to-hand combat, many of them beat and injured police officers as they tried to prevent them from entering through windows and doors.

Biden and many of his allies accuse Trump of inciting the storming of the Capitol and later misleading the public about the incident.

Biden on Friday also referred to a number of legal challenges Trump continues to face, including a New York jury finding him guilty in May on all 34 counts of attempting to illegally influence the 2016 election by paying hush money to a porn star after he claimed the two had sex.

Biden received one of the loudest cheers from the crowd on Friday when he spoke about his support for unions, which have been the backbone of political movements in Detroit and Michigan for generations.

“When unions do well, everyone does well,” Biden said. “I will always support unions because you will always support me.”

The president said his policies would help Americans emerge from the economic turmoil they last experienced in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, which disrupted global markets beginning in late 2019.

“Our economy is improving,” Biden said. “There are more jobs. Inflation is down. The stock market is at an all-time high. More people have more money in their 401(k) plans than ever before.”

The topic allowed him to return to his criticism of Trump’s administration.

“Do we really want to return to the chaos of Donald Trump as president?” Biden asked. “Donald Trump is the only president in American history, other than Herbert Hoover, who has lost more jobs than he has created.”

Biden took the stage at the rally at 7:15 p.m., 75 minutes after his originally scheduled appearance.

“Don’t stop,” chanted the crowd as the president stepped up to the microphone. He was introduced to the sounds of “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, a Motown Records classic.

As Biden left the stage 45 minutes later, Tom Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down” blared from the speakers in the hall. A group of state legislators and local politicians stood behind the president as he waved to the crowd before leaving the hall.

The event was hosted in the gymnasium of Renaissance High School, a school about 10 miles northwest of Comerica Park.

With temperatures around 30 degrees, the hopeful participants sometimes had to wait in queues that snaked around the football field of the huge campus, the numerous parking lots and the academic centers.

In the air-conditioned gymnasium, Biden’s supporters stood on two high bleachers along the north and west walls. Rows of supporters stood along the south wall, while about 75 media representatives – including international media – filled the eastern corner of the facility. An elevated walkway along the walls provided space for hundreds more spectators.

The stage where Biden and his supporters spoke was in the center of the room, beneath a scoreboard hanging from the ceiling rafters.

Large “Michigan for Biden Harris” signs hung from the stands. Dozens wore hats with the campaign’s signature marketing logos. Another banner featured a heart emoji between the words “We” and “Joe.”

More than an hour before Biden’s arrival, chants for “four more years” drowned out the sounds of a soft pop soundtrack. At one point, a DJ interrupted Bill Withers’ “Lovely Day” so that only the chants could fill the room.

At least once, shouts of “Lock him up” were heard from the waiting crowd, probably in reference to Trump’s legal problems.

While waiting for the president, many in attendance also cheered as members of Biden’s political coalition first came into view. While Governor Gretchen Whitmer was out of state promoting her recently published book, Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson appeared before the president’s remarks, stopping at times near the lines of Biden supporters to accommodate selfie-seekers.

While the crowd appeared to be predominantly pro-Biden, one attendee expressed opposition to the president during his speech.

“Free Palestine,” shouted one woman, alluding to the ongoing conflict between Israel and its neighbor in the Middle East.

The protester was escorted out of the gym and Biden did not address the issue she raised.

Biden’s handling of the Middle East conflict that broke out in October was criticized by both Jewish and Arab American voters in key swing states.

While the demonstrator was the only one protesting in the gymnasium, a group of more than 20 pro-Palestinian activists held signs at the entrance to one of Renaissance High School’s parking lots on Friday, criticizing Biden’s Middle East policy.

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan was one of the first politicians to warm up the crowd before the president’s arrival. Duggan was also present in March 2020 when Biden visited the same school while campaigning for a first term in the White House.

Duggan reminded the crowd on Friday that Michigan voters supported Biden, not Trump, in 2020.

“Are we ready to do this again?” Duggan asked the crowd, drawing cheers.

“When Donald Trump comes (to Michigan), he comes to help himself. When Joe Biden came here, he came for Michigan. Detroiters never forget. He was there for us.”

Benson also spoke to the crowd, delivering some of the same messages that Biden later repeated. She warned voters that supporting Trump could harm the electoral system. She told attendees that she had “stood up to Donald Trump” and “bullies” who had tried to sow doubt about the 2020 election results.

“I’m here today to send a message to all of you: We are in the midst of a battle for the future of our democracy,” Benson said. “The 2024 election will define this democracy for generations. What I see is a room full of defenders of democracy.”

Oscar-winning actress Octavia Spencer also spoke to the crowd before Biden.

“Four years ago, after Donald Trump drove our economy to the brink of collapse, you, Michigan, did not hesitate,” said Spencer, star of films such as “Hidden Figures.”

“You’ve put a fighter in the White House,” she told the crowd. “Well, Michigan, the stakes are higher this year than ever before, but I know you’re ready to stand up and save our democracy again. We have a job to do: Reject Donald Trump again.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.