<br><div><aside class="gnt_em gnt_em__fp gnt_em_vp__tp gnt_em__el" aria-label="Video - Trump says 'The Black People' like him because of his felony charges on the campaign trail"/><p class="gnt_ar_b_p">Kwame Kilpatrick is straightforward about <a target="_blank" href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2024/05/01/kwame-kilpatrick-attends-donald-trump-rally-saginaw-michigan-former-detroit-mayor-sentence-commuted/73534435007/" data-type="link" data-id="https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2024/05/01/kwame-kilpatrick-attends-donald-trump-rally-saginaw-michigan-former-detroit-mayor-sentence-commuted/73534435007/" rel="noreferrer noopener" data-t-l=":b|e|k|${u}" class="gnt_ar_b_a">supporting Donald Trump's</a> return to the White House and why it isn't terrifying as a Black man in America.</p><p class="gnt_ar_b_p">"White people being racist is not a big issue for me," he said. "My life doesn't change because somebody white said something racist."</p><p class="gnt_ar_b_p">Kilpatrick was known as <a target="_blank" href="https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-may-11-na-kwame11-story.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" data-t-l=":b|z|k|${u}" class="gnt_ar_b_a">America's hip-hop mayor</a> after being elected in 2001 as Detroit’s youngest leader at age 31. He was a charismatic star who quoted rap lyrics on the trail and sported a diamond-studded earring while challenging his party to be bold, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4485875/user-clip-kilpatrick-2004" data-type="link" data-id="https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4485875/user-clip-kilpatrick-2004" rel="noreferrer noopener" data-t-l=":b|z|k|${u}" class="gnt_ar_b_a">speaking on stage</a> at the 2004 Democratic National Convention.</p><p class="gnt_ar_b_p">That was until various scandals <a target="_blank" href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2020/05/30/detroit-mayor-kwame-kilpatrick-admits-guilt-resigns-office/5263943002/" rel="noreferrer noopener" data-t-l=":b|e|k|${u}" class="gnt_ar_b_a">plagued his administration</a>, forced his resignation and landed him in prison on public corruption crimes.</p><aside aria-label="advertisement" class="gnt_m gnt_x gnt_x__lbl gnt_x__al"/><p class="gnt_ar_b_p">The 54-year-old Kilpatrick, released 20 years early when <a target="_blank" href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2021/01/20/kwame-kilpatrick-pardoned-donald-trump-detroit-mayor/4226873001/" data-t-l=":b|e|k|${u}" class="gnt_ar_b_a" rel="noopener">Trump commuted his sentence in 2021</a>, has a quick barbershop delivery that hasn't rusted.</p><p class="gnt_ar_b_p"><strong>Prep for the polls:</strong> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-t-l=":body nav (vg)|e|auto spike click:6|${u}" class="gnt_ar_b_a" href="http://www.usatoday.com/elections/voter-guide/">See who is running for president and compare where they stand on key issues in our Voter Guide</a></p><p class="gnt_ar_b_p">But today his message is aimed at peeling away disaffected Black voters from President <a target="_blank" href="http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/joe-biden/" data-t-l=":b|e|k|${u}" class="gnt_ar_b_a" rel="noopener">Joe Biden</a> in the critical swing state of Michigan.</p><p class="gnt_ar_b_p">"It's a difference between a white guy (Trump) who says something and a white guy (Biden) who does something," Kilpatrick told USA Today in an interview Monday, referring to then Sen. Biden's support for the controversial 1994 crime bill that led to a mass incarceration of Black men.</p><figure class="gnt_em gnt_em_img"><img class="gnt_em_img_i" style="height:549px" fetchpriority="high" data-g-r="lazy" data-gl-src="https://www.usatoday.com/gcdn/authoring/authoring-images/2024/06/28/USAT/74244564007-usatsi-16249795-1.jpg?width=660&height=549&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp" data-gl-srcset="https://www.usatoday.com/gcdn/authoring/authoring-images/2024/06/28/USAT/74244564007-usatsi-16249795-1.jpg?width=1320&height=1098&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp 2x" decoding="async" alt="Former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick arrives at Little Rock Baptist Church to minister to the congregation in Detroit on Sunday, June 13, 2021."/></figure><p class="gnt_ar_b_p">While running in 2019, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/25/us/joe-biden-crime-laws.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" data-t-l=":b|z|k|${u}" class="gnt_ar_b_a">Biden apologized for his role</a> in the crime bill, and a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/06/16/black-voters-biden-trump-poll/73671017007/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR0UalMFNgd9E6CHeygxBPJO8BhH4SJfjctgI7OMd8MZvF6Pv3ZAF9cweF0_aem_AQECC9di4wTn9VC5l7Dgag" data-type="link" data-id="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/06/16/black-voters-biden-trump-poll/73671017007/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR0UalMFNgd9E6CHeygxBPJO8BhH4SJfjctgI7OMd8MZvF6Pv3ZAF9cweF0_aem_AQECC9di4wTn9VC5l7Dgag" rel="noopener"></p></div> <style> .wrapper { text-align: center; } </style> <div class="wrapper"> <a class="button" href ="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/07/01/trump-black-voter-appeal/74156422007/">Read more <span>➤</span></a> </div>
