Trump, Obama visit Michigan as tariffs shape Senate race

Former president Barack Obama rallied for Democrats in Detroit on Saturday, and President Donald Trump was scheduled to speak in Port Huron, Mich., on Sunday, as both parties court Michigan voters in a Senate race where tariffs on Canada have become a campaign issue.

Michigan sends more of its goods to Canada than to any other country. The U.S. Trade Representative’s state trade page lists $23.2 billion in Michigan goods exports to Canada in 2025, or 39 per cent of the state’s total.

Obama spoke at Cass Technical High School in Detroit on Oct. 24, CBS Detroit reported. He called Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed “as Michigan as it gets” and said, “We’re voting for change right here in Michigan.” Obama also criticized the Trump administration’s tariffs on Canada, Michigan’s largest export market in 2025, CBS Detroit reported. Democratic gubernatorial nominee Jocelyn Benson attended.

Reuters reported that Obama said opponents want to make El-Sayed look less patriotic than he is, and compared that to the false claims that he was born in Kenya. “This stuff didn’t work on me,” Obama said, according to Reuters.

Trump’s rally was set for 3 p.m. ET at McMorran Place Arena in Port Huron, in an area he carried with more than 66 per cent of the vote in 2024, Reuters and Fox News reported. Reuters said he was expected to address the U.S.-Canada tariff dispute. It was his first Michigan campaign visit this year, Reuters reported. This story was written before the rally began and will be updated.

Trump is backing Republican Mike Rogers, a former congressman, for the open seat of retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters. Reuters reported that Trump has repeatedly criticized El-Sayed and mocked his middle name, Mohamed, and that Rogers alleged without evidence that El-Sayed has ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. El-Sayed denies that and called Rogers’s questioning of his loyalty “shameful,” Reuters reported. If El-Sayed wins, he would be the first Muslim elected to the U.S. Senate, according to Reuters.

Rogers was campaigning on a bus tour elsewhere in Michigan on Saturday, CBS Detroit reported, and his campaign had not responded to its request for comment. Reuters said Rogers has distanced himself from Trump’s trade policy. In a campaign ad posted earlier this month, he said “Canada is not our enemy” and urged an end to the “tariff war,” according to The Canadian Press. He did not name Trump in the ad.

The race is one of the most competitive in the country. The Cook Political Report rates it a toss-up, Reuters reported earlier this month. Republicans hold the Senate 53-47 and the House 218-214, and Democrats need a net gain of four seats in each chamber to take control, Reuters reported. The midterm elections are Nov. 3.

The trade dispute is the Canadian connection. Washington imposed 50 per cent tariffs on about $20 billion of Canadian goods in August, and Canada’s retaliatory tariffs of 15 to 50 per cent on about $20 billion of U.S. goods took effect Sept. 8, Reuters reported. The White House said Oct. 23 that changes to the tariff list take effect Oct. 30, including the removal of plywood sheets, some paper products and certain machinery, and the addition of certain valves, carpets and waste products.

Reuters reported that the tariff dispute has hurt the Detroit auto industry. The Trump administration has said its trade actions protect American businesses and workers. No poll cited in the sources for this story measures the Michigan race directly. A separate look at national sentiment is in our report on Trump’s approval in final polls.

Via Reuters, CBS Detroit and Fox News.

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