HOWELL, Mich. (WXYZ) — During a stop in Howell on Wednesday, Vice President JD Vance told the crowd his message to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is "all you gotta do is ask" for the National Guard to be deployed to Detroit.
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"My one message to Gretchen Whitmer is look, the city of Detroit, we know, has got some serious crime problems," Vance said. "And we know that it's the people in Detroit who suffer the most when crime is allowed to run rampant over city streets. Gretchen, we are happy to send the National Guard to Detroit, Michigan. All you gotta do is ask."
RAW VIDEO: Vance says Whitmer just has to 'ask' for National Guard in Detroit
Vance made the remarks as part of his speech at the Hatch Stamping Company facility in Howell. He started the speech by talking about Charlie Kirk, before addressing President Donald Trump's current trip to the United Kingdom, before pivoting to the deployment of the National Guard in Washington, DC, and Memphis, which led into his remarks about Detroit.
Detroit leaders and residents respond
Residents and city leaders say a military presence is not the answer.
"Crime is everywhere, but do we need that kind of presence in the city?” resident Christine E. said.
Some say it’s a waste of resources.
"A lot of us, we look out for each other in the community. I think the National Guard is a waste of resources," resident Andre Anderson said.
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Detroit city leaders agree.
"They're not wanted. I'm going to tell you that right now. I think if they showed, they would be met with a lot of resistance. I think it would do more harm than good," said Quincy Smith, a crime violence intervention advocate.
Smith is the executive director of Team Pursuit, a community violence intervention organization on Detroit's east side. He's been doing advocacy work for over a decade.
“You know, we try to address violence from the root issue and really get into the core problems that a lot of our young people are having,” Smith said. "Those involved in gang violence and victims of gang violence, show them love and help them heal."
John Roach, director of media relations for the city of Detroit, issued the following statement in response to the remarks:
In 2024, Detroit’s law enforcement strategy produced record declines and resulted in the fewest homicides, shootings, and carjackings since 1965.
In 2025, Detroit is right now experiencing a further 15% drop in homicides, 25% drop in shootings, and 30% drop in carjackings, all record lows.
The current partnership between federal, state, county, and private violence prevention groups is achieving record reductions, and it would be a serious mistake to abandon this successful strategy.
Smith says the solution isn't having a military presence in the city but proper funding.
"What the federal government needs to invest in is violence intervention work. You know, we're really fighting for our financial lives right now,” he said. "We're asking for our federal government, our local politicians, our legislators to step up, do what's right and fund the solution to community violence."
Watch JD Vance's full speech in the video player below:
7 News Detroit has reached out to Whitmer's office for comment. We have not yet gotten a response.
During his speech, Vance also addressed taxes, saying, "We're going to fight for when you send a dollar to Washington, D.C., that we spend it wisely. We're going to fight for you to have low taxes. If you're working hard, we're going to fight for you to keep as much of your hard-earned money as possible because I believe that the American dream belongs to American citizens, not to illegal aliens, not to drug cartels and it doesn't belong to foreign workers. It belongs to workers right here in the state of Michigan."
