NOVI, Mich. (AP) – Donald Trump further denigrated Detroit as he appealed for votes Saturday in a suburb of the largest city in the swing state of Michigan.

“I think Detroit and some of our areas make us a developing nation,” the former president told supporters in Novi. He said people want him to say Detroit is “great,” but he thinks it “needs help.”

The Republican White House nominee told an economic group in Detroit earlier this month that “the whole country is going to be like Detroit” if Democrat Kamala Harris wins the presidency. That comment drew harsh criticism from Democrats, who praised the city for its recent drop in crime and population growth.

Later, Trump headed to Pennsylvania, another crucial state, where he appealed to young voters, promising them better conditions as they begin their careers.

Trump’s stop in Novi, after an event Friday night in Traverse City, is a sign of Michigan’s importance in the tight race. Harris held a rally in Kalamazoo Saturday with former first lady Michelle Obama, who scathingly denounced Trump and asked why he was close, saying, “I was lying awake at night wondering, ‘What the hell is going on?’

Candidates in the latter part of the campaign made frequent visits to Michigan, a state Trump won in 2016, which Democrat Joe Biden took four years later.

Michigan is home to major auto companies and the nation’s largest concentration of United Auto Workers membership. It also has a significant Arab-American population, and many were frustrated by the Biden administration’s support for Israel’s offensive in Gaza after the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas against Israel.

During his rally, Trump singled out local Muslim and Arab American leaders who joined him on stage. Those voters “could swing the election one way or the other,” Trump said, adding that he was counting on the “overwhelming support” of those voters in Michigan.

“When President Trump was president, there was peace,” said one of those leaders, Mayor Bill Bazzi of Dearborn Heights. “We had no problems. There were no wars.”

As Trump seeks to capitalize on the community’s frustration with the Democratic administration, he has a history of policies hostile to the group, including a travel ban targeting Muslim countries while in office and a pledge to expand it to include refugees from Gaza if he win. on November 5.

A Trump ally, Republican Rep. Darrell Issa of California, the grandson of Lebanese immigrants, told reporters that Trump is winning the support of more Arab Americans and has cultivated relationships with Middle Eastern leaders that would bring more stability to the region.

In lengthy remarks to supporters, Trump went after Harris and the media with familiar jabs and touted immigration and energy policies that are campaign staples. For example, he said that immigrants “have black jobs and they’re taking Hispanic jobs.” Government data contradicts this claim, showing that immigrant labor contributes to economic growth and provides promotion opportunities for native-born workers.

Later Saturday, Trump traveled to State College, Pennsylvania, home of Penn State University. He told a crowd that included more young people than usual that under his leadership, they would “inherit the freest, strongest and most powerful nation on Earth.”

“If you vote for me, I will ensure that young people start your careers in a strong economy at a time of unprecedented peace and prosperity,” he said.

He repeatedly praised the university’s national championship-winning wrestling team, inviting several of his athletes on stage to shake his hand.

In both of his campaign stops Saturday, Trump drew attention to how an influx of Haitian migrants has affected Springfield, Ohio. But he stopped repeating false claims about immigrants eating pets, a narrative that drew pushback from members of both parties and prompted bomb threats against schools and government buildings.

Trump took the stage an hour and 40 minutes after he was originally asked to speak. An hour into his remarks, the crowd had grown noticeably empty in the back of the arena, especially as kickoff for Sunday night’s game at Penn State at Wisconsin approached.