Trump tells Michigan’s Republican chair to ramp up outreach to Black voters in Detroit, chair says

LANSING, Michigan (AP) — Former President Donald Trump is urging Republicans in Michigan to target Black voters in Detroit and other predominantly African American areas in the swing state, state GOP leaders said Monday.

Michigan GOP leaders, including the state party’s new chair, traveled to Florida to strategize the Trump campaign’s approach to winning the state in 2024. Much of the discussion centered on southeast Michigan, an area with large groups of minority voters who have been critical of President Joe Biden, particularly over his handling of the Israel-Hamas war that has caused high civilian casualties in Gaza.

“The president believes that there’s a case to be made for reaching out to African American voters and to Hispanic voters, whether it’s in Saginaw or going into Wayne County or Muskegon, anywhere across the state,” said Michigan GOP chair Pete Hoekstra. Wayne County is home to much of metro Detroit.

Both Biden and Trump will hotly contest Michigan, a state that flipped Democratic in 2020 and is widely seen as critical to both candidates’ chances in November.

Arab American protests over the war have driven protest vote campaigns in Michigan’s Democratic primary and subsequent party races. But Democratic leaders in southeast Michigan have expressed concern that the party is overlooking restlessness among Black voters, a core Democratic constituency from which Trump’s campaign argues it can win more support.

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