Kwame Kilpatrick says Obama is 'not the messiah' ahead of former president's Detroit visit

DETROIT — Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick warned voters Tuesday ahead of former President Barack Obama's visit to Detroit that the Chicago Democrat is "not the messiah" and that Obama is pitching a message that no longer resonates with the Black community.

Kilpatrick, who was convicted of 24 felonies and whose sentence was commuted in 2021 by former President Donald Trump, made the remarks during a Trump campaign call with other Black Detroit area men ahead of Obama's rally for Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris.

Obama is headlining a rally Tuesday night in downtown Detroit and has used recent campaign stops across the country for Harris to urge Black men to vote for the current vice president.

"I want the president to understand from me, Kwame Kilpatrick, that people respect what he did in office, they respect him as a man," Kilpatrick said. "He’s a politician so he has the absolute right to engage in politics. But he’s not the messiah or the father of the community. And to tell Black men just because this is a woman, you should be compelled to vote for her, it isolates men and woman in their own households.

"We believe women can have that job, but not this one," Kilpatrick added of Harris.

During a question and answer session after Kipatrick's comments, moderators did not ask a question from The Detroit News inquiring whether Kilpatrick was being paid for appearing at the press conference. Later, a spokeswoman said Kilpatrick was not being paid for the press conference.

Michigan Democratic Party Chairwoman Lavora Barnes on Tuesday said Trump "has shown nothing but disrespect to Detroit, and any attempt to rewrite that legacy is shameful.

"Meanwhile, leaders like President Obama and Vice President Kamala Harris have always stood for integrity, service, and real progress for our communities," Barnes said. "Detroiters won’t be fooled by con men and charades."

Obama is expected Tuesday evening in Detroit amid an onslaught of campaign visits by Harris, Trump and their running mates, Tim Walz and JD Vance.

Harris' campaign and surrogates have been making pleas to male voters and, specifically Black men, to rally more support for the ticket in swing states where the race is expected to be close.

In Michigan earlier this month, former NBA star and Michigan native Magic Johnson appeared ahead of Harris at a Flint rally with a direct appeal to Black men.

"Our Black men, we got to get them out to vote, that's number one," Johnson said. "Kamala's opponent promised a lot of things last time to the Black community that he did not deliver on and we got to make sure we help Black men understand that. So that's why I'm here to make sure I help Black men understand."

Kilpatrick also noted during the Tuesday call that Obama "hand-picked" former U.S. Attorney Barb McQuade, who brought the corruption charges against him in 2010, and argued the former president was stuck on 1990s Democratic messaging from a time when Detroit-area union members voted uniformly Democrat. Black men are more independent thinking now, Kilpatrick said.

"When Barack Obama comes in and he’s doing the same kind of warmed over 1990s messaging from Democratic Party, which are mostly programmatic," Kilpatrick said, noting specifically free breakfast and lunch programs touted by Democrats. "And another candidate, Donald Trump, is saying we want entrepreneur opportunities, we want to give you access to capital, we want to grow your businesses, we want to make sure that right where you are you can grow business in your community and buy your own lunch and your own breakfast.”

Several other Black men speaking on the call accused the former president of "pandering" to the community and playing "identity politics." Obama's messaging at recent rallies has been divisive, said YouTuber Anton Daniels.

"Us as Black men, we don’t even believe that he believes in Kamala Harris," Daniels said.

Daniels added later that the community wasn't asking for a handout, but wanted an opportunity to succeed. He argued Trump's plans to lift taxes on tips and overtime, lower inflation and eliminate federal government waste would help to create those opportunities.

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