Eminem reportedly introduces Obama at Detroit rally while Harris sets his sights on Michigan

Topline

Eminem, the Detroit rapper who has been a vocal critic of former President Donald Trump but has mostly held back on political endorsements, will reportedly introduce former President Barack Obama at a rally for Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday, making a potentially major endorsement signal that polls show a close race in Michigan.

Important facts

What did Eminem say about Trump?

The rapper criticized Trump in a nearly eight-minute track titled “Campaign Speech” that was released on October 19, 2016, the day of the third and final debate between Trump and then-Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. Eminem called Trump a “loose cannon” who, as president, “has his hand on the button / Who doesn't have to answer to anyone – great idea!” He also took aim at Trump's supporters, rapping: “Leave the faucet running, I'll dive in / A bunch.” Trump supporters underwater / Sneaked up on them in Ray-Bans in a gray tan van.” Eminem attacked Trump again at the 2017 BET Hip-Hop Awards in a freestyle titled “The Storm,” calling him “a kamikaze , which is likely to cause a nuclear holocaust” and declared: “Racism is the only thing he's fantastic for.” He criticized Trump's 2015 comments that he likes veterans who “weren't taken prisoner” and defended Colin Kaepernick, the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback kneeling during the national anthem, drawing Trump's ire. In the free skate, he took aim at his own Trump-supporting fans, telling them if they were deciding whether they would rather be on his side or Trump's side: “I'll do it for you with this: F** k you!” In his 2017 song “Like Home,” he took aim at Trump again, accusing Trump of racism against black and Hispanic Americans and comparing him to Adolf Hitler. In a December 2017 interview, Eminem said Trump “makes my blood boil” and stated that he had “sold people a dream that will never come true” and expressed hope that he would be impeached.

tangent

Eminem has acknowledged that some of his fan base and Trump's supporters – particularly white, working-class Americans – may overlap, but the rapper said he doesn't care if he loses fans because of his anti-Trump stance. In his 2018 song “Chloraseptic (Remix),” he rapped about how he “practically cut my damn fan base in half” after his anti-Trump performance at the BET Awards, but was still doing better than other rappers. In a 2017 interview with Vulture, he admitted that he had a “poor white trash” upbringing, but said, “I actually don't know if I can understand why people who relate to me do that Feeling like they could identify with (Trump).

“The difference between the two is that Trump has “made it acceptable for the white man to feel oppressed.” In an interview with Billboard in 2018, he again questioned why white working-class voters would support Trump, and criticized them for thinking “that damn billionaire” was going to help them.

Important background

Eminem has expressed several political viewpoints in addition to criticizing Trump, including an anti-Iraq war message in his 2004 song “Mosh.” In the song, Eminem declares, “No more blood for oil” and criticizes former President George W . Bush: “Let the president respond to higher anarchy / Strap him with an AK-47, let him fight his own war / Let him impress daddy that way.” He also criticized the overturning of Roe v. Wade by the Supreme Court in 2022, tweeting: “As a father, it pisses me off that women have fewer rights two days ago than they did a few days ago… we're going the fuck back.” He also wrote a cease-and-desist letter last year then-Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy after he used “Lose Yourself” at campaign rallies.

Surprising fact

Eminem's relationship with Trump hasn't always been controversial. In 2004, MTV broadcast a live Eminem concert billed as a political event: “The Shady National Convention,” at which Trump gave a speech introducing the rapper. “I know a winner when I see one, and Donald Trump is telling you right now: Slim Shady is a winner,” Trump said, adding, “He’s got Donald Trump’s vote.”

How close is the race in Michigan?

Harris and Trump are in a razor-thin race in Michigan, one of several “blue wall” states that Biden won in 2020 and that Harris wants to keep. Harris led Trump 49% to 47% in both a Washington Post-Schar School poll of likely voters released Monday and a Wall Street Journal poll of registered voters conducted between Sept. 28 and Oct. 8, who said they would “probably” or “definitely” vote. However, in a Quinnipiac poll released on October 9, Trump led Harris 50% to 47%. Harris leads Trump by 0.3 points in the FiveThirtyEight Michigan polling average as of Tuesday, while Trump has a 1.2-point lead in the latest Real Clear Politics poll average.

Further reading

Eminem Won't Stop Criticizing Trump: 'If I Lost Half of My Fanbase, So Be It' (CNN)

Eminem attacks Donald Trump: “He brainwashed people” (The Guardian)

Michigan 2024 Trump-Harris polls: Harris narrowly leads in latest poll (Forbes)