Biden talks unity, beating Trump at Detroit rally

Anti-NAFTA, pro-Green New Deal protesters disrupt speech

By Lilly Kujawski
Editor

Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden met a lively crowd in Detroit on Monday night.

The campaign rally drew about 1,500 people to Renaissance High School on Outer Drive, according to LaToi Cook, Detroit Public Schools security specialist. Attendees danced along to the music and cheered as they anticipated Biden’s arrival. 

“Michigan, I’m counting on you in a big way,” Biden said as he greeted the audience nearly two hours after the event was scheduled to begin.  

Not everyone in the crowd was there in support of Biden, however. There were two disruptions during Biden’s speech. One group protested against Biden’s backing of the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, with large cloth banners that said, “NAFTA killed our jobs” and “Biden betrayed workers.” 

“Are you with Donald Trump?” Biden asked the protesters.

Another group, members of the Sunrise Movement, protested in support of the Green New Deal. 

Protesters chanted, “hey hey, ho ho, Joe Biden has got to go.” Cheers of “Let’s go Joe” from Biden’s supporters overpowered the sound of protests. About a dozen or so protesters were escorted out of the rally by police officers.

“Let them go, it’s not a Trump rally,” Biden said. “This is what’s wrong with American politics.”

“I’m not worried about it,” he said. “This is not who we are. It’s not who we are as a party, it’s not who we are as a people.”

Biden spoke of unifying the Democratic party and the country, promising to bring together all people and identities. 

“To every person who’s been knocked down, counted out, left behind—this is your campaign,” Biden said.

Biden called himself the candidate to take on Trump. He said he was the one to bring Democrats, Republicans and Independents to a common ground.

“If you want a nominee that’s gonna beat Donald Trump, keep the House of Representatives, win back the Senate—join us,” Biden said. “If you want a nominee that will bring the party together and not tear it apart, join us.

“Presidents not only have to know how to fight, they have to know how to heal,” he said, adding that the party must beat Trump without becoming like him. “I refuse to accept the notion that we’re at a perpetual state of war with the other party.”

Biden also talked about healthcare and promised to make it “affordable,” “accountable” and “accessible” for every American.

“We should be building on Obamacare, not scrapping it,” Biden said.

He brought up issues of gun control, education and climate change. He vowed to stand up to the National Rifle Association and reminded the audience of his involvement in the Paris Climate Accords.

He also highlighted the need for improved foreign relations and the reinstatement of alliances that were broken during Trump’s presidency. 

Biden was joined at the rally by former 2020 presidential candidates U.S. Sens. Kamala Harris, D-California, and Cory Booker, D-New Jersey.

“I am so proud to endorse Joe Biden to be the next president of the United States. I believe in Joe,” Harris said. “One of the things that is so reflective of his personality is when he says, ‘there is room for everyone’—that’s who he is.

“Michigan, justice is on the ballot in 2020,” she said. “We will not be overlooked and we will not be canceled.”

Attendee Abigail Gooding, a Teach for America teacher in the Detroit Public Schools, said that Biden’s backing from Harris and Booker helped cement her support for him. 

She liked that Biden talked about “the core values of the U.S.” and “who we are as people.” 

Also campaigning for Biden at the rally were Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, and U.S. Rep Brenda Lawrence, D-Southfield.

“When we were on the ropes, when our auto industry was struggling, who had our backs? That’s right—Barack Obama and Joe Biden. They came to the rescue when people counted us out; when people said, ‘let it fail.’” Whitmer said. “They had our backs, and so today, I say, ‘let’s have Joe Biden’s back.’”

Some rally attendees shared Whitmer’s view.

“I like the fact that he bailed out the city of Detroit when everyone turned their backs on the automotive industry,” said attendee Clarissa Clayton of Lake Orion. 

“If Detroit votes, if Michigan votes, we have a very good chance of winning,” Clayton said.

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