People wait in line to enter a Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump campaign event in State College on Saturday. The Associated Press

NOVI, Mich. — Donald Trump further denigrated Detroit while appealing for votes Saturday in a suburb of the largest city in swing state Michigan. The Republican nominee for president later visited Pennsylvania, — another critical swing state — stopping for a rally in State College.

“I think Detroit and some of our areas makes 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.”

Trump had told an economic group in Detroit earlier this month that the “whole country will end up being 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 growing population.

Trump later headed to State College, where he appealed to young voters by promising them better conditions as they start their careers.

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

“If you vote for me, I will ensure that you begin your careers, young people, in a roaring 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 its athletes onstage to shake his hand.

In both campaign stops on Saturday, Trump called attention to how an influx of Haitian migrants have impacted Springfield, Ohio. But he stopped short of repeating false claims about immigrants eating pets, a narrative that had drawn pushback from members of both parties and prompted bomb threats on some schools and government buildings.

Trump took the stage an hour and 40 minutes after he was originally billed to speak.

An hour into his remarks, the crowd had become noticeably bare in the back of the arena, especially as the kickoff of Sunday night’s Penn State game at Wisconsin neared.