5 takeaways from President Biden’s July campaign stop in Detroit

DETROIT, MI — President Joe Biden’s campaign returned to Michigan this week, at a time when the Democrat’s viability as a candidate has fallen under intense debate.

During a 35-minute campaign speech Friday, July 12, Biden spoke to more than 2,000 supporters inside Detroit’s Renaissance High School.

Here are five key takeaways from that visit:

The spotlight is hot, Jack

Biden’s public speeches and physical presence are falling under increased public focus following a debate performance last month that left many top Democrats calling on the president to step down as a 2024 candidate.

Biden, however, remains defiant; he won’t exit the race.

As a result, the public watched his follow-up appearances more closely than usual, searching for more signs that could indicate Biden’s debate performance was no fluke. At a nationally televised news conference the day before the Detroit rally, the president made headlines when he mistakenly referred to Vice President Kamala Harris as “Vice President Trump.”

About 75 members of the media — from across the world — covered his Detroit rally.

But Biden’s performance there failed to produce any gaffes of significant note. Albeit with the aid of a teleprompter, the 81-year-old president appeared to deliver his Friday address with a volume and confidence that did not match the tone of that scrutinized debate appearance last month.

Biden insists he’s not going anywhere

Biden on Friday addressed the growing calls by Democratic allies for him to step aside as a candidate.

“I’m running, and we’re going to win,” Biden told the crowd at Renaissance High. “I’m the nominee of this party because of you, the voters. No one else. And I’m not going anywhere. I learned a long time ago, when you get knocked down, you get back up.”

The crowd’s chants of “don’t you quit” and “four more years” seemed to express his supporters’ favor for his decision.

The issues

Biden’s remarks outlined some of his top campaign promises and messaging.

The president championed abortion rights, touted promising economic numbers, promised to reinforce and strengthen civil rights, expressed support for labor unions, stated his plans to ban assault weapons, and raised fears about “Project 2025.” The nearly 1,000-page handbook — partly authored by former Trump White House officials — has generated scrutiny in recent weeks from Democrats who claim the document, if applied during a second Donald Trump presidency, would radically reshape civic infrastructure in part by cutting thousands of federal jobs.

Much of Biden’s remarks, though, focused on his Republican opponent.

“Trump is even more dangerous now,” Biden said of his White House predecessor. “He’s unhinged. He says, if he loses, there will be a bloodbath. Trump says, if he wins, he’ll be a dictator on day one. We’re not going to let that happen. Over my dead body.”

Biden also referenced Trump’s legal woes and his debated role in inciting the Jan. 6, 2021, attack where hundreds of Trump supporters broke into the US Capitol in part to keep the Republican in power.

“We’re going to stand up for America and save our democracy,” Biden said, warning another Trump presidency would damage the American electoral system.

Biden likes Detroit

Friday marked the third time in six months Biden appeared in Detroit, the largest city in one of the nation’s key battleground states.

Biden’s last visit there was in late May, when he served as the keynote speaker at the Detroit branch of the NAACP’s 69th Annual Fight for Freedom Fund dinner.

The president first rallied Motown voters three weeks before he won the state’s February presidential primary election for Democrats.

His only other Michigan stop this year: Saginaw County, where he spoke to campaign supporters in March.

And Detroit likes Biden (mostly)

The day before the Democrat’s scheduled trip to Detroit, 14 members of the Michigan legislature’s “Detroit Caucus” — including state House of Representatives Speaker Joe Tate — signed a letter expressing “unwavering support” of the president’s reelection bid.

Their constituents have historically shown favor for Biden too.

In 2020, 94% of Detroit voters cast ballots for Biden, helping him end Trump’s tenure as president. By comparison, 50.6% of Michigan residents voted for the Democrat that year.

On Friday, Renaissance High’s gymnasium was not large enough to house the volume of attendees who showed up to see the president. Campaign planners said organizers established another space on campus where the overflow crowd watched Biden’s address on video.

While the crowd appeared overwhelmingly pro-Biden, one attendee seemed to express opposition to the president’s policy relating to the violent conflict between Israel and its Middle East neighbor.

“Free Palestine,” a woman shouted while Biden was addressing the crowd.

The protester was escorted from the gym. Biden did not address the issue.