WARREN, Mich. (WXYZ) — Former President Donald Trump was back in metro Detroit on Friday, making stops in Dearborn and Warren. Meanwhile, Minnesota Gov. and vice presidential nominee Tim Walz was also in the area.
Both campaigns have been visiting Michigan nonstop in the days leading up to the general election.
"One or two votes in a precinct in Michigan could win this thing for all of us," Walz told a crowd in Taylor.
Watch Walz's full speech in the video below:
While in Taylor, Walz was courting union workers. Meanwhile, Trump stopped by a restaurant in Dearborn hoping to win over undecided Muslim voters before later hosting a rally in Warren at Macomb Community College.
“Vote for Trump and you will see a mass exodus of manufacturing jobs from Mexico to Michigan, from Shanghai to Sterling Heights,” Trump told the crowd.
Watch Trump's full speech in the video below:
Macomb County has been one of Trump’s strongest counties in Michigan the last two elections, thanks in part to union workers who had once been lifelong Democrats flipping to the former president.
Doug King, who lives in Clawson but works in Sterling Heights, is one of the United Auto Workers members who was at Trump's rally in Warren.
“I think the domestic auto industry, if Trump doesn't win, we’re in trouble,” King said. “Trump's tariffs kept the auto industry here.”
Watch our coverage on Trump's stop in Dearborn in the video below:
King has worked for nearly 30 years at the Sterling Stamping Plant. He says he was a lifelong Democrat who first voted for Trump in 2016.
“When a Democrat was in office, I was afraid of losing my job. And four years under Trump, I felt secure in my job,” King said. "Where I work, they’re laying people off."
UAW worker James Benson from Canton was also at Trump's rally in Warren. He says he voted for Obama twice and did not vote for Trump in 2016. However, he says he changed his mind about a year into Trump's presidency.
“All my paychecks were better. I made more money than I ever did. We sold more product. The economy was up everywhere across the board,” Benson said. “The policies in place are hurting us, the mandates for EVs.”
However union leaders and other UAW members are sending a different message. While Trump spoke in Warren, the UAW held their own rally at Solidarity House in Detroit with Democrats, urging members to get out and vote.
“Kamala Harris has stood with us on the picket line. Kamala Harris has a plan for not a divided America but a united America,” UAW President Shawn Fain told the crowd.
Fain and the union have officially endorsed Harris and say the majority of their members are right behind them, with some of them urging a vote for Democrats up and down the ticket.
“With Ms. Harris elected, we’ve got a chance,” said Jerry Clifton, a UAW member of more than 50 years.
“We are in need of labor-friendly reps to make sure that working-class people are taken care of,” UAW worker Karen Bennette added.
While both sides claim to have the overall UAW vote on their side, both campaigns are clearly still fighting for it, showing just how pivotal metro Detroit will be in deciding the next president of the United States.
Watch Harris and Walz's joint visit in Ann Arbor earlier this week in the video below:
“We need people like Kamala Harris at the helm who are allies with us, that will demand deals that serve working-class people," Fain said.
"I would say it’s leaning toward Trump," King said of UAW voters. "Especially at Stellantis because of what's going on with all the layoffs.”
“I can tell you right now on the floor, it is a roar," Benson added. "A majority by far are voting for Donald Trump.”
Harris will be back in Michigan on Sunday. First, she's going to a church service in Detroit and then is stopping at businesses in Detroit and Pontiac before heading to East Lansing for a rally at Michigan State University.
Trump will also be back in Michigan, holding a rally late Monday night in Grand Rapids, which will be the final event of his campaign.
