WATCH: Trump offers witty retort to reporter’s question on white supremacy as crowd bursts into laughter
HOWELL, MICHIGAN: At a recent rally held in Howell, Michigan, former president Donald Trump found himself confronted with questions about the town's controversial past related to white supremacy.
The inquiry stemmed from a pointed critique by Kamala Harris' campaign, which brought up Howell’s history of neo-Nazi activity and connections to the Ku Klux Klan.
Kamala Harris campaign's critique and Donald Trump's response
The controversy began when the Kamala Harris campaign slammed Donald Trump for choosing Howell as the location for his rally. According to The Sun, the town has a notorious past, with neo-Nazi marches occurring as recently as July and its history as a place where KKK leader Robert Miles held regular meetings in the 1970s.
Alyssa Bradley, Harris' communications manager, framed Trump's visit as more than just a subtle nod to his base. "This [Tuesday] event on ‘crime and safety’ isn’t a dog whistle from Trump — it’s a bullhorn," Bradley proclaimed.
“His visit underscores the core choice in this election — between a prosecutor and a criminal, someone who has spent her life making communities safer and someone who encourages violence, and someone who will build a future where all Michiganders can get ahead and someone who wants to take us back to the days of the KKK,” she added.
When Fox News correspondent Aishah Hasnie questioned Trump about the Harris campaign's accusations, Trump responded with a question of his own.
"Kamala's campaign attacked you for being in this town because it's associated with white supremacy," Hasnie asked.
"Who was here in 2021?" Trump responded, referencing President Joe Biden's visit to Howell.
Hasnie confirmed Biden's visit, to which Trump reacted with a sense of triumph, "Thank you, everyone."
President Biden visited Howell in 2021 to promote his Build Back Better agenda, a $3.5 trillion infrastructure plan focused on rebuilding the nation’s roads and bridges. Despite winning Michigan in the 2020 election, Biden lost Livingston County, where Howell is located, by a huge margin of 22 percentage points.
Biden’s visit was not without controversy, as it was met with protests from locals who were opposed to his proposals.
White supremacist protests in Howell
The Kamala Harris campaign's criticism of Donald Trump’s rally was partly rooted in the fact that Howell had witnessed some protests linked to white supremacy just a month prior.
Marchers were seen wearing shirts and holding signs that expressed support for both Hitler and Trump, with some even displaying messages such as "We love Hitler, we love Trump," per a Reuters report.
However, Trump spokesperson Karoline Leavitt preemptively responded to the backlash by questioning the media's consistency.
“Did the media write this same story when Joe Biden visited Howell in 2021, or when Kamala Harris visits cities where racist protests and marches have occurred in the past?" Leavitt said in a statement.
"No, of course not, because the mainstream serves as a divisive, anti-Trump, mouthpiece for the Democrat Party. President Trump will travel to Howell to deliver a strong message on law and order, making it clear that crime, violence, and hate of any form will have zero place in our country when he is back in the White House,” she concluded.
According to reports, Trump did not explicitly denounce the racist protests that had occurred in Howell. However, Florida Representative Byron Donalds, a staunch supporter of Trump, did speak out against the white supremacist groups involved.
"OK, all those groups, whoever did that is distasteful. I denounce them myself. I want nothing to do with them," Donalds said, The Washington Examiner reported.
Donald Trump's speech and campaign promises
During his hour-long speech in Michigan, Donald Trump touched on a variety of issues, particularly focusing on crime. He took the opportunity to accuse Harris of being the most radical leftist ever considered for high office.
“We’re here today to talk about how we are going to stop the Kamala crime wave that is going on at levels that nobody’s ever seen before,” Trump said. “She is, as you know, the most radical left person ever even thought of for a high office.”
Trump also reiterated his commitment to law enforcement, promising that he would be the president to stop crime.
"When I return to the White House, we will stop the plunder, rape, slaughter, and destruction of our American Suburbs, Cities, and Towns," he declared. "We will shut down deadly Sanctuary Cities. I will shift massive portions of federal law enforcement to immigration enforcement. On Day One, we will begin the largest domestic deportation operation in the history of our country."
In a particularly striking comparison, Trump likened Chicago—the host city for the Democratic National Convention—to a war zone. "[Chicago is] a war zone that’s worse than Afghanistan," Trump said.
He concluded his speech by painting a vision of America as an "inspiration to the world" under his leadership.
“We’re going to stand up for law-abiding citizens of America,” the former president said. “We’re going to be an inspiration to the world, but we have to start by remedying the situation that was caused by somebody that right now is running for president of the United States.”
