FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
News from Multiple Organizations
June 14, 2024
Contact: Sam Inglot, sam@progressmichigan.org
Groups Speak Out Ahead of Trump Visit to Detroit, Far-Right Conference
DETROIT – Several groups spoke out on Friday ahead of Trump’s advertised appearance at a Turning Point USA (TPUSA) event at Huntington Place in Detroit.
Turning Point USA was started in 2012 by Charlie Kirk as a conservative “youth” organization focused on organizing college campuses. Over the years, the organization has become increasingly radicalized by aligning itself with Christian and white nationalist movements. Turning Point USA is believed to have funded buses to take rioters to Washington, D.C., on January 6, and Charlie Kirk has recently received criticism for his increasingly racist rhetoric, like doubting a Black pilot’s qualifications solely based on his race. Kirk has openly espoused racist, antisemitic, and bigoted rhetoric and uses his organization to promote this ideology.
Sam Inglot, Executive Director of Progress Michigan: “As president, Donald Trump attacked the same fundamental civil rights and freedoms that Charlie Kirk and TPUSA have in their crosshairs today. Trump’s presence at this gathering only serves as a stark reminder of his extreme, right-wing actions in the White House: attacking the rights of Michiganders, cozying up to racists and white nationalists and spreading disinformation about our elections. Michiganders are the antithesis of what we’ve seen from Trump as president and TPUSA: we stand united, we embrace and respect the diversity of our communities, and we will fight together to protect and expand our civil rights and freedoms.”
Branden Snyder, Executive Director at Detroit Action: “Trump and Turning Point USA’s upcoming visit to Detroit is a calculated attempt by the far right to manipulate Black, brown, and working-class communities. They aim to dismantle public education and union jobs while giving massive tax breaks to corporations. Detroit and working people across the nation are still reeling from the Trump era, marked by economic disparities and judicial decisions that rolled back protections like Roe v. Wade and Affirmative Action. Trump’s rhetoric also fueled the violent attempts to stop the vote count in Detroit, putting poll workers at risk. Detroit is not for sale, especially not to a conman. This visit is just a photo op to use young folks and people of color as pawns in a harmful political game. Despite this circus, we will mobilize to ensure the polls reflect the needs of our community, not fascists.”
Steve James, Movement Politics Director at Michigan United Action: “Trump’s visit to Detroit for the Turning Point USA event represents the worst of American politics: a far-right, racist, and xenophobic agenda that is aggressively endorsed by a white nationalist organization. This platform is a direct attack on everything Michiganders are fighting for. Trump and Turning Point USA thrive on spreading hatred, division, and fear, seeking to undermine the inclusive and just society we are striving to build. Their presence in our city is a blatant insult to our values of justice, equality, and unity. Their rhetoric not only threatens the social fabric of our communities but also emboldens those who seek to discriminate and marginalize others based on race, ethnicity, and national origin. Michigan United Action stands firm in opposing this harmful and destructive agenda.”
Ashlea Phenicie, Chief Advocacy Officer at Planned Parenthood Advocates of Michigan: “Again and again, Michiganders have resoundingly rejected the anti-abortion agenda espoused by the likes of Donald Trump and extreme organizations like Turning Point USA. Their values are diametrically opposed to what Michiganders have already decided: that decisions on sexual and reproductive health care should be made between people and their health care providers, without interference from anti-freedom politicians or extremist groups. While Michiganders believe that everyone deserves the freedom to make the decisions that are best for their bodies, families, and futures, Donald Trump and anti-abortion extremists are hell-bent on using every trick in the book to take those freedoms away, from hand-picking their own Supreme Court judges to pressuring ER doctors to let pregnant people bleed out or develop sepsis instead of providing lifesaving abortion care. While they are focused on trying to divide and conquer, Michiganders are united in the fight for protecting and expanding our freedom to access the sexual and reproductive health care that each and every one of us needs.”
###