• Kamala Harris, Tim Walz rally with thousands of supporters in metro Detroit, their first joint appearance in Michigan
• Democratic presidential and vice presidential nominees criticized Donald Trump over abortion right and what Walz called ‘weird’ behavior
• Visit followed an earlier Wednesday campaign event by Republican running mate JD Vance in Macomb County

ROMULUS — Democratic Presidential nominee Kamala Harris and running mate Tim Walz packed an airport hangar in metro Detroit on Wednesday, bashing Republican Donald Trump and stressing the importance of Michigan this fall.

“The path to the White House runs right through this state, and with your help, we will win in November,” Harris said to a large crowd, which her campaign estimated included 15,000 people. 

The rally marked the first joint appearance in Michigan for Harris and Walz since the vice president replaced President Joe Biden atop the Democratic ticket and enlisted the Minnesota governor as her vice presidential nominee. 

And it was, Walz said, the largest rally so far of their fledgling campaign, which began this week with stops in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, fellow swing states expected to play a crucial role in the presidential election. 

“When you know what you stand for, you know what you fight for — and we know what we stand for,” Harris said to applause. 

The rally was interrupted several times by attendee medical issues, apparently heat related, and briefly by chants from protesters who accused the Biden-Harris administration of “genocide” for the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

The issue had dogged Biden in Michigan, where more than 100,000 voters cast "uncommitted" protest ballots in the February presidential primary. 

Harris acknowledged the protesters, saying "everyone's voice matters" but quickly pivoted. "If you want Donald Trump to win, say that. Otherwise, I'm speaking," she said before her supporters drowned out the protesters.

The vice president, who if elected would become the country’s first female president, took the stage to Beyonce’s “Freedom” and was met with loud cheers upon arrival — both when her plane touched down in the early afternoon, and when she spoke just before 8 p.m. 

Walz, who took the stage to Bruce Springsteen’s “Born to Run,” repeated many of the same remarks he made when accepting the running mate position on Tuesday, including a push for gun violence prevention efforts and criticism of comments by Trump and running mate JD Vance. 

“These ideas that they’re putting out there? They’re weird,” Walz said of the Republican ticket. 

“All the things that make me mad about those other guys … is that they’re trying to steal the joy from this country,” he added. “But you know what? Our next president brings the joy.”

A ‘half true’ claim

Prior to the Democratic rally, Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley slammed Harris and Walz for bringing what he called a “radical agenda” to Michigan.

“Michiganders won’t be fooled by the Harris-Walz campaign focused on memes, celebrity endorsements, and pushing their extreme agenda far and wide,” Whatley said in a statement, “instead they will put America first and vote to send President Trump back to the White House in November.”

Vance, the Republican vice presidential nominee, campaigned earlier Wednesday in Macomb County, where he argued Harris’ past expression of support for the “defund the police” movement made law enforcement harder and contributed to violent crime.

But Walz repeated what has quickly become a signature campaign line, saying that "violent crime was up during Donald Trump's presidency -- and that's not even counting the crimes that he committed."

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Nationally, violent crime rates fell the first three years of Trump's presidency but climbed in 2020, his final year in office, which was marked by the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

That makes Walz's claim "half true," according to Politifact, a publication from the nonprofit Poynter Institute.

In Michigan, violent crime fluctuated in Trump's first three years -- climbing slightly in 2017 and 2018 before dropping in 2019 -- and then rose significantly in 2020, according to state data.

Violent crime in Michigan rose again in 2021, President Joe Biden's first year in office, and fell in 2022, the most recent year for which state data is available.

Democratic enthusiasm

The rally marked a notable tonal shift for Democrats, whose concerns over the fall election seem to have evaporated since Biden left the race and endorsed Harris. 

Harris gives Democrats a reason to vote beyond “just because,” said Pamela Bard, 72, a retired educator from Southfield. 

After watching video of Harris and Walz’s first rally on Tuesday in Pennsylvania, Bard said she knew she had to the Michigan event because, as she put it, “I want to share in that energy.”

“We can't go back,” Bard said, referencing Trump. “I've been through so many cycles of politics, and I've watched how America has developed in the last eight years — it breaks my heart to see where we are now. So, I'm here. Because I want democracy not to be destroyed.”

Democrats repeatedly broke into “we can’t go back chants” during the rally, which Harris and Walz used to highlight a bevy of policy aims while also stressing unity headed into November. 

“Y’all look like you’re voting for the future,” Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist, a Democrat, told the crowd ahead of Harris’ remarks. “A future that’s as big, and loud, and as powerful, and as diverse as this crowd.”

He was one of nearly a dozen speakers to give remarks ahead of Harris’ appearance. 

Others included Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, Wayne County Executive Warren Evans, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and every Democratic member of Michigan’s Congressional delegation except U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Detroit, who has criticized the administration over the Israel-Hamas war.

Throughout the evening, the speakers pressed voters in the 90 days leading up to the election to volunteer, door-knock, donate and — in Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s words — “do everything except biting their kneecaps,” a reference to remarks from Detroit Lions Head Coach Dan Campbell.

Swing state

Michigan is one of six swing states either party needs to win in November to secure a path to the presidency. 

In 2016, Michigan went for then-Republican candidate Donald Trump over Democrat Hillary Clinton, by 10,704 votes. The state flipped in 2020, with Trump losing to then-Democratic candidate Joe Biden by 154,188 votes.

Trump underperformed in that cycle within three counties: Leelanau, Kent and Saginaw. Metro Detroit, including the vote-rich city and evolving suburbs in Oakland County, also played a major role in Biden’s win.

Harris said little about Michigan, specifically, or the administration's push to transition the auto industry to electric vehicles, which Trump has repeatedly criticized in campaign stops in the state. 

But she touted the United Auto Workers, which endorsed her last week, saying the union "has always worked to lift up the working people of this nation." 

Harris largely focused on broader national issues, including abortion rights that Michigan voters enshrined in the state constitution in 2022. 

If Trump wins, she said, "we all know" that "he would sign a national abortion ban to outlaw abortion in every state, and that would include the great state of Michigan, but we're not going back."

Trump has waffled on abortion policy after justices he appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court ended longstanding national protections by overturning Roe v. Wade in 2022.

But since April, the former president has said abortion policies should now be left up to the states and based on the "will of the people" in separate parts of the country.