‘They fool like hell, these people’: Trump airs 2020 grievances in Michigan weeks before midterms
Warren, Michigan — During the first seven minutes of Saturday’s rally in Michigan, former President Donald Trump addressed two well-known issues Republicans grapple with this November: inflation and the cost of living under President Biden. Rise, and fixated on issues of immigration and the southern border.
He then turned to a topic that had occupied him since November 2020: that the presidential election had been “stolen” from him.
He claimed that John James, now the congressional candidate for Michigan’s 10th District, won the 2020 U.S. Senate election, but he didn’t. James lost to Senator Gary Peters by over 92,000 votes. Mr Trump has accused the Democrats of obliterating “the integrity of the election”. He called the United States a “third world country” because of how ballots are counted, and praised France for using paper ballots.
Mr Trump did not approve of an investigation led by a Republican commission in Michigan. No evidence of widespread fraud was found.
And he called out to the crowds that packed the arena in Macomb County, where he won by eight points in 2020, so he could overtake the Democrats in November.
“Michigan patriots have to break every record because they cheat like hell,” Trump said, adding that Republican voters had to raise the margins so Democrats “cannot manipulate.” I implied that I had to.
Republican voters in the state, and even at rallies, believe Trump has been duped in 2020. “Absolutely” the election was stolen, says Deborah, a retired telecommunications worker and longtime Republican. Brown said
More than half of Republican politicians in the state also agree with Trump that the election was stolen.
Nine of Michigan’s 17 statewide and federal GOP congressional candidates have expressed doubt about President Joe Biden’s victory. state margin It received over 154,000 votes, according to CBS News analysis. Three of his nine are incumbent lawmakers who voted against the results of the Electoral Colleges in Arizona and Pennsylvania on January 6, 2021. They were all approved during Trump’s rally.
This is happening in every state Trump won in 2016 but lost in 2020. In Arizona, 11 of his 13 candidates are considered “election naysayers.” In Wisconsin, 5 out of 13 candidates, in Georgia, his 10 out of 19 candidates denied Biden the election, and in Pennsylvania, he won 9 out of 20. I believe in
Michigan’s Republican nominee for secretary of state, Christina Caramo, told CBS News before Trump’s remarks, “It’s a secondary issue to how prevalent fraud was.” Some people don’t know how big it is, but when you start laying out the evidence, it becomes terrifying.”
Karamo pointed to the use of wireless modems in some of the state’s election machines, falsely claiming they were hacked in 2020, and suggesting they will invite fraud in future elections. There have been no cases of fraud with these systems, but some people have stopped using modems. Detroit news.
When asked if he believed the next election would be credible, Karamo declined to answer, calling Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s warning that election officials were being threatened with violence as “unbelievable.” ” he said.
“I think it’s grossly irresponsible for an election official to say that. I’ve lived in Michigan my whole life and I’ve never seen anything like it,” Karamo said.
In early September, Benson said, “face the nation“Many secretaries of state and election officials are concerned about ‘violence and chaos on and before and after the election.
a Brennan Center Survey of March election officials found that one in six officials “experienced intimidation.”
Republicans, including Republican Lieutenant Governor Shane Hernandez, are calling for voter ID laws and increased oversight of dropboxes. He said Republicans in the state want to replicate the actions of Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin’s poll on Election Day.
“We have to make sure the team is on site so that people feel comfortable,” he said.
Governor of Michigan’s GOP nominees, Tudor Dixonsuggested Trump would agree with the lie that he won the 2020 election, and raised his hand in the preliminary debate when asked if the candidate believed it was stolen.
a Trafalgar poll released last week It turns out that Dixon is about five points behind Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Dixon has never taken the lead in state polls in the last month.
The unsubstantiated belief that the election was stolen — “That’s why so many people are here right now, and we hope to get. [Trump] return. There are many Christians like me here. [Trump] We’ll be back here in 2024,” said Brown, a retired communications worker, as he waited in line for the rally.
Michigan pollster Steve Mitchell said most GOP voters in Michigan think of Mr. Biden as an “illegitimately elected president.”
“If you’re going to run as a Republican and you’re denying it, you’re not going to get support from Republicans,” Mitchell said.
The source of their belief in this is Trump. “Voters believe him,” Mitchell said. “There is nothing anyone can do to deter them from the fact that the election was not actually stolen in Michigan.”
Ronald Dwyer, who is running for Oakland County Commissioner, is the rare Republican candidate in the state who isn’t sure there was fraud enough to turn the election against Trump, but he still thinks it’s time to move on. I think that came
“We’re in the middle of the season. We just have to move forward,” he said.
a CBS News poll for September It found that 63% of Republicans believe there was “widespread fraud” in the 2020 election, mostly in Democrats and urban areas. another vote If the midterm elections were lost, 64% of Republicans said they should accept the result and look to 2024, while the rest said they should challenge where the Democrats won.
Who holds statewide positions in Michigan and other battleground states could play a huge role when it comes to proving the winner of the next presidential election in 2024.
Whitmer is taunted by chants “Lock her up!” From a large Republican crowd on Saturday, she claimed to be the “last line of defense” against what she characterized as a Republican effort to undermine democracy. According to Bridge Michigan.
Karl Marlinga, the Democratic candidate for Michigan’s 10th District, said the main reason for his campaign was that if the 2024 Electoral College results were a tie and the state legislative delegation would be the final decision. He said the move is to ensure that Michigan Democrats make up the majority of Congressional delegations in preparation for the 2018 election. Presidential election arbitrator.
“I want to be there in January 2025. Democrat or Republican, whatever the reality is, I want to be at least one of the 435. I want the real winner to be recognized.” ‘, he said.
Trump believes there won’t be another “fair election”, but hopes the candidate he supports will pass more restrictive election laws this November.
“Wherever there is a chance for Republicans, we must pass critical electoral integrity reforms,” he said.
Michigan’s Republican-led Congress is already trying to do this. In 2021, the State Senate has introduced 39 election-related bills. This is to require photo ID to vote and restrict access to absentee ballot applications to others. According to the Detroit Free PressWhitmer has vetoed several of these bills, saying they are part of a “systematic nationwide assault on voting rights designed to undermine confidence in the electoral system.” .
In Michigan’s August primary election, the number of absentee ballots issued and returned in 2018 fell to nearly two in 2018 after the state removed the requirement for voters to excuse themselves to obtain a vote-by-mail ballot. doubled. Last Thursday, Michigan began accepting absentee ballots.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-midterm-elections-michigan-rally/ ‘They fool like hell, these people’: Trump airs 2020 grievances in Michigan weeks before midterms