Opinion: Who said the whole country being like Detroit was a bad thing?

Detroit, Michigan, has had a tough go from time to time. The reality now is the economic landscape has seen massive transformation and after being the butt of many jokes, us Detroiters know our city is on the mend. Whether it be a drop in crime, or booming population growth, our city’s future is bright. That didn’t stop former President Trump from insulting our city in front of the very people helping our economy flourish. 

I’ve spent the better part of 20 years living in Detroit. I’m a proud working member and former Business Representative of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 58. The past four years have marked a real transformation not only for Detroit, but all of Michigan. 

Having an ally to the working man in the White House has meant floods of investments coming in, creating jobs in the clean energy space through electric vehicles and investments in infrastructure. Michigan has even made history with the repeal of right-to-work laws and restoring the prevailing wage. Detroit and Michigan are seeing growth in good-paying jobs, union jobs that make for real careers that will last and allow families to build wealth, grow, and put back into our state’s economy. 

This progress stands in stark contrast to the former president, who chooses to take a jab at his opponents at the expense of the very people he needs support from. Instead of coming to the table with plans to continue the boom of the clean energy jobs we are seeing, Trump only promises to increase the cost of living with across-the-board tariffs. 

He may try to paint a picture of a Democrat-led state that is hemorrhaging jobs, but the real job losses we saw happened under his leadership. And now, Trump and his running mate JD Vance are imperiling thousands of jobs in our state by threatening the $500 million investment made in the General Motors Grand River Assembly Plant. 

Under the Biden-Harris administration, Michigan’s unemployment rate plummeted to 4.1%, creating 424,700 new jobs. Under Trump, we lost 280,000 jobs. Both candidates have given us records to decide between. While President Trump lambasts our United Auto Worker union brothers and sisters, saying that children could do their jobs, Democrats have worked to bolster unions and ensure that the jobs being created through legislation like the CHIPS and Science Act, the Inflation Reduction Act, and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law are union jobs.  

The past four years under the Biden-Harris administration have shown us what happens when you choose to build and invest in America. We’re a proud blue-collar state. With the CHIPS and Science Act, the IBEW has brought on more apprentices. We can educate people at all different job levels and help create real careers that allow workers to stay in Michigan and in Detroit to build their life. 

Republicans have tried to tell lies that the Biden administration is wasting money on Detroit, but they’re not just spending money. They’re investing it – investing in Americans, investing in our unions, in our country. Personally, with the growth I’ve seen in Detroit and Michigan as a whole, I think the rest of the country could learn a lot from Detroit. I don’t see how it would be a negative for the rest of our country to become Detroit.