For Immediate Release
Contact: Erik Shelley, 248-982-6326
MichiganPeoplesCampaign@yahoo.com
Ryan Bates, 248.787.6767, dasbates@gmail.com
Michigan Women Disrupt Donald Trump in Detroit
Protesters challenge candidate’s stance on sexual harassment, auto jobs
DETROIT - Donald Trump’s campaign stop in Detroit was immediately derailed when more than a dozen women stood up and challenged Trump’s claim that he would bring back manufacturing jobs.
“You want to close Michigan plants and out source our jobs!” shouted Jacquie Maxwell, a Grosse Pointe Woods auto worker, as she stood on her chair. “How are we supposed to raise our families without good jobs? Is that what you call winning?”
In an August 2015 interview in the Detroit News, Trump proposed his surprising plan to help the auto industry: close plants in Michigan and Ohio, and move plants to low-wage states. This slash-and-burn approach would cause whole communities who depend on auto jobs to collapse.
The Trump family has also drawn criticism for their comments on sexual harassment. Daughter Ivanka Trump said she would not “allow herself to be sexually harassed,” while her brother, Eric, said women bring the harassment upon themselves. This point of view seems to run in the family with candidate Donald Trump offering the suggestion that women who are harassed simply find another job. None of this sat well with protesters at the rally.
“Why are you blaming the victims of sexual harassment?”said Detroit food server Sarah Messer. “Why shouldn’t women be safe at our work? It’s not our fault!”
In fact, Donald Trump has himself been accused of sexual harassment multiple times for years, according to the New York Times article, “Crossing the Line: How Donald Trump Behaved with Women in Private.”
###
The Michigan People’s Campaign is a statewide organization that is building a movement to put people and the planet before profits, forge a more just and sustainable future, foster participatory democracy at every level, create an economy that works for the many and a society that dismantles racism while uplifting our common humanity.
Learn more about the Michigan People’s Campaign at our website: www.michiganpeoplescampaign.org
We know things are bad. We know it's worth the fight.
You are part of a strong and vibrant community of thinkers and doers who believe another world is possible. Alone we are weak. Together we can make a difference. At Common Dreams, we don't look away from the world—we are not afraid—our mission is to document those doing wrong and galvanize those doing good. But we can't do it alone. It doesn't work that way. We need you. We have now launched our annual Summer Campaign. Can you pitch in today?
People’s Action is a national network of organizations with a million people across 29 states.
