TRUMP MAKES CAMPAIGN STOP AHEAD OF STATE’S PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY
Thousands of supporters gathered outside in the bitter cold to see Donald Trump make his first Michigan campaign stop of the 2024 presidential election cycle.
The former president hosted a campaign rally Saturday at the Oakland County International Airport in Waterford Township, speaking for about an hour focused on manufacturing jobs, immigration and trade. Trump last visited Michigan Sept. 27, during the UAW strike, when he spoke in Clinton Township.
Trump took the stage in a red Make America Great Again baseball cap and railed against his recent legal judgments and cases against him, attacked President Joe Biden, and promoted what his future administration would do.
The beginning of Trump’s speech was spent attacking Biden as well as denying all wrongdoing in the legal cases being levied against him.
“He’s (Joe Biden) a corrupt person and the worst president we have ever had,” said Trump. “He’s a very low IQ individual…he always puts America last.”
Later, Trump added, “my enemies want to take away my freedom because I won’t let them take away your freedom.”
“This is going to be a bigger win than 2016,” said Trump. “We are going to have so many voters out there it’s not going to matter if they (Democrats) cheat or not … Under the Trump Administration, you were all better off. I go through this crap because we are going to take America back.”
Trump’s visit comes just 10 days ahead of the state’s Feb. 27 presidential primary, in which Trump is competing for GOP votes with former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who served as his ambassador to the United Nations.
“We want to send a signal,” said Trump. “Don’t wait. Get out and vote.”
Trump also downplayed the Biden administration’s push to manufacture more “expensive” electric vehicles, calling it “ridiculous.” He added that the country will go bankrupt building up the charging infrastructure.
“We are bringing everything back,” he said. “You will have your choice…a vote for Trump is a vote to keep those manufacturing jobs in America.”
Following those comments, he called Brian Pannebecker, a Harrison Township resident and retired autoworker, on stage.
“They (Democrats) can’t cheat enough to beat him (Trump),” said Pannebecker as he ripped off his jacket.
Immigration was also a central focus for Trump. He praised the U.S./ Mexico border wall that was built during his administration.
“We are going to close up the border like we did,” he said. “We had the best border ever…We’ve never had migrant crime like we do now. Even here in Oakland County, you’re being overrun. If you don’t want illegal aliens crawling through your windows, vote against crooked Joe Biden.”
Trump added that “the biggest threat” to U.S. and Michigan manufacturing jobs is an open border.
On trade, Trump said his administration’s renegotiation of the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement was a big win for Michigan auto workers.
Revisions included steel export restrictions, a larger quota for U.S. cars exported to Korea that meet U.S. emissions and safety standards, and an extension of the duration of the U.S. 25 percent tariffs on imported pickup trucks.
“If I didn’t do that you would be dying here,”Trump said. “If I didn’t do that, you would have had a big problem…I put workers first and I put America first.”
If elected, Trump said he will pass what he called the “reciprocal trade act.”
“When a country charges us an import tax, we will charge them the same tariff,” he said. “If you screw us, we will screw you. They gotta pay.”
Trump’s visit also comes one day after a New York judge ruled in a civil case alleging he fraudulently misrepresented financial figures to get cheaper loans and other benefits.
Saturday, he called the case an “election interference ploy” and added “hopefully the whole thing will be thrown out.” He went on to call the judge a “lunatic.”
“They only care about how to stop crooked Joe (Biden’s) opponent,” said Trump. “There is no respect. We haven’t done anything wrong. We’ve done nothing wrong. Our court system is a mess.”
The former president and his businesses were fined $355 million for “ill gotten gains” and Trump was barred from running any New York company, including his own, for three years and his sons, Donald Jr. and Eric, who help run the business, and were ordered to pay $4 million each and barred from running the company for two years. Estimates put the total Trump must pay at $450 million with interest. Trump lawyers have said they will appeal.
The New York Times has reported that during the appeal the former president will have to either come up with the money or secure a bond within 30
Saturday, he called the case an “election interference ploy” and added “hopefully the whole thing will be thrown out.” He went on to call the judge a “lunatic.”
days of the court’s judgment against him.
The penalty in Friday’s decision and an earlier $83.3 million judgment in a defamation trial involving writer E. Jean Carrol adds up to more than a half-billion dollars that the former president will have to pay from his own pockets, not from campaign contributions.
A Fox News survey released this week shows Trump with a two-point advantage over Biden among Michigan registered voters, with nine months until the general election. Last month, a statewide poll commissioned by The Detroit News and WDIV showed Trump leading Biden by eight percentage points.
Biden, who made his first Michigan campaign stop in Macomb County earlier this month, won the state in 2020 by less than three percentage points. In 2016, Trump took Michigan by less than half a percentage point, the only time a Republican presidential candidate carried the state since 1988.
This week, Trump endorsed former congressman Pete Hoekstra as chairman of the Michigan Republican Party. Hoekstra was officially recognized by the Republican National Committee (RNC) as chair following a unanimous vote that also affirmed that former chair Kristina Karamo was properly removed from that position earlier this year, something she continues to challenge and deny.
In a change from past presidential elections, Michigan Republicans will allocate its delegates to the national convention in July based on both the state’s presidential primary results and the Michigan GOP presidential caucus convention on March 2, in which active party members choose the nominee.