Vice President JD Vance was in Howell Wednesday for an event that was originally promised to be about tax cuts and economic policy.
But the vice president spent more time talking about other issues, including the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. The 31-year-old influencer died after being shot at a rally last week in Utah.
Vance praised Kirk’s efforts to attract more young people to conservative causes.
“We reject political violence,” said Vance, “And we reject the crazy left-wing radicals that gunned down our friend Charlie Kirk. Let’s talk to one another and not try to shoot each other down for disagreeing.”
Prosecutors said Tuesday that Kirk was targeted "based on his political expression," but they haven't offered more details or a specific motive.
Crime was also a topic the vice president touched on — specifically, crime in Detroit.
Detroit’s violent crime rate has been among the highest in America’s largest cities, though city officials say it has been declining in recent years.
At one point in his Howell speech, Vance turned his remarks on combating crime in Detroit to Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer: “It’s the people in Detroit who suffer the most when crime is allowed to run rampant all over city streets,” said Vance. “Gretchen, we are glad to send the national guard to Detroit, Michigan. All you've got to do is ask,” which drew cheers from the crowd.
The Trump administration has been criticized for sending national guard troops to several U.S. cities, including the nation’s capital.
There was no immediate response yet from the Whitmer administration to Vance’s offer to order national guard troops to Michigan’s largest city.
Other speakers spent more time talking about the Trump administration’s economic policies at the event at a metal stamping plant near Howell.
U.S. Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer praised the administration’s efforts to cut taxes and regulations, along with other attemptws to spur U.S. businesses.
“Turns out all we needed to kick off the golden age was a new president,” said Chavez-DeRemer.
There are economic headwinds, though.
Inflation remains modestly above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. And according to the Associated Press, hiring has ground nearly to a halt in recent months and the unemployment rate has ticked higher.
The Democratic National Committee slammed the vice president’s appearance in Michigan.
“Trump and Vance have delivered an economic disaster: Prices are soaring, wages are decreasing, jobs are disappearing, and the manufacturing sector is being gutted,” said DNC Rapid Response Director Kendall Witmer.
