In a political endorsement that raised eyebrows across partisan lines, former Detroit mayor and longtime Democrat Kwame Kilpatrick threw his support behind former President Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign just ahead of the Republican frontrunner’s visit to the Motor City.
Kilpatrick’s endorsement was included in a Trump campaign announcement on Saturday, with the ex-mayor stating: “I can never thank President Trump enough for what he’s done for me and my family by giving me freedom.”
That “freedom” refers to Trump’s controversial pardon of Kilpatrick’s 28-year federal prison sentence for public corruption during his final days in office in January 2021.
At the time, Kilpatrick had served nearly 8 years after his 2013 conviction on two dozen criminal counts including racketeering, bribery, and fraud carried out over a decade as both mayor of Detroit and a Michigan state representative.
Despite being a Democratic political fixture who served as Detroit’s mayor from 2002-2008, Kilpatrick’s endorsement aligns him with the opposition party’s frontrunner in a critical swing state.
And it came just hours before Trump arrived in Detroit on Saturday for a roundtable discussion with local Black leaders at the 180 Church, part of his outreach efforts to chip away at President Joe Biden’s support among African American voters.
“But I believe this election and the issues involved are personal to every family and every person in America,” Kilpatrick said of his reason for crossing party lines to back the former president.
Kilpatrick had already signaled his disillusionment with Biden earlier this year, telling The Detroit News in May after attending a Trump rally that he would not be supporting the incumbent Democrat’s re-election.
His endorsement formalizes that break from his longtime Democratic roots.
Kilpatrick has fully embraced the unconventional candidate who pardoned him by endorsing Trump’s third White House bid. In doing so, he has become the latest Democratic figure to switch allegiances to Trump’s “America First” movement amid Biden’s staggeringly low approval ratings.
Whether the endorsement resonates with Black voters in Detroit remains to be seen. Republican candidates have struggled in the past to make inroads with African Americans, who remain a core pillar of the Democratic coalition.
But Kilpatrick’s defection underscores both the intense loyalty Trump can inspire as well as the disillusionment with Biden coursing through some surprising factions of the Democratic base.
As the two candidates head towards the 2024 general election rematch, more shocking flips may still await.