Trump’s Detroit insults are based on old narratives local media are rewriting every day

It’s been a war of words − and T-shirt slogans − in Detroit this campaign season. Dominic Gwinn/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images by Danielle K. Brown, Michigan State University Michigan’s swing-state status means people are talking about Detroit. Some have been saying unpleasant things. Addressing the Detroit Economic Club on Oct. 11, presidential candidate Donald Trump predicted that the “country will end up being like Detroit if (Kamala Harris is) your president. You’re going to have a mess on your hands.” Later, Trump again disparaged the city, claiming Detroit “makes us a developing nation.” Trump’s depictions of Detroit are based on outdated narratives about the city. And many Detroiters, including local journalists, politicians and residents, are using the national spotlight to change the story people think they understand about the city. My research focuses on how the press covers crisis, protests and social struggle and how that media coverage affects the public. For the past year, I’ve been looking at these effects on Black Michiganders, a process that has connected me more closely with Detroit’s communities. Typically, I find that the dominant narratives used to describe a group of people, a crisis or an event are difficult for journalists...