Former President Donald Trump talked to Michiganders in Eaton County for over an hour Thursday, delivering this overarching message about his opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris: “She just doesn’t give a damn about you.”
Hundreds of attendees at Alro Steel in Potterville chanted Trump’s name as he spoke in Michigan, which could serve as one of the deciding states in the Nov. 5 election. Trump was surrounded by steelworkers who stood on stage holding campaign signs for hours during the rally despite the summer heat pouring into the building.
Trump promised a better economy if he’s elected and again predicted “World War III” if Harris should win in November, as he did at a Monday speech at a National Guard conference in Detroit.
“I’m here today with a simple message for the American autoworker and for the American worker, your long economic nightmare will very soon be over. It’s going to be over. Turn it around with your vote. We will defeat comrade Kamala Harris, and we will bring back the American dream.” Trump said.
Although Michigan, like other states, suffered mass unemployment during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, University of Michigan researchers determined at the end of last year that the U.S. is likely to avoid a recession over the next two years and Michigan will see economic growth.
The U.S. economy continues to show signs of strength, growing faster in the second quarter than first reported, with the gross domestic product (GDP) — which encompasses consumption, investment, government spending and trade — clocking in at 3%, up from an initial estimate of 2.8%. Inflation fell to 2.9% in July, down from over 9% during the pandemic, but it’s still above the Federal Reserve’s target of 2%.
Trump doesn’t have a leg to stand on when it comes to talking about the economy, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a vocal supporter of Harris’ campaign, told the press on Wednesday, calling attention to the hostility between the United Auto Workers union and Trump.
“Michiganders already know what Donald Trump would do to our economy, and it’s a ‘no thank you’ from us,” Whitmer said. “When I came into office, Donald Trump had shipped Michigan jobs overseas, including thousands of auto jobs. He tried to undermine our unions every way that he could.”
Many Michigan leaders attended the rally, including state House Minority Leader Matt Hall (R-Richland Twp.), Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt (R-Porter Twp.), Michigan Republican Party Chair Pete Hoekstra Barry County Sheriff Dar Leaf and former Trump-endorsed GOP gubernatorial nominee Tudor Dixon.
Speakers included Michigan GOP U.S. Senate nominee Mike Rogers, who’s facing U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Holly), and Republican former state Sen. Tom Barrett, who’s running against former state Sen. Curtis Hertel (D-East Lansing) in the 7th Congressional District. Both Rogers and Barrett offered their support for Trump and he returned the praise during his speech.
The visit to Eaton County, which Trump narrowly won over in 2020 by about 500 votes, comes after media reports that Trump violated federal law when he filmed political activity at Arlington National Cemetery Monday during a wreath-laying ceremony for the 13 service members killed during the 2021 suicide bombing at the Kabul airport in Afghanistan. A cemetery employee also said she was assaulted by a member of Trump’s team.
The U.S. Army issued a statement to the media saying participants visiting Arlington were made aware of the federal laws prohibiting political activities in the cemetery and an Arlington employee “who attempted to ensure adherence to these rules was abruptly pushed aside.”
Trump told the crowd in Michigan that the families of the deceased asked him to come to the ceremony and asked him to take pictures with them over the graves of those killed.
“Last night, I read that I was using the site to politic, that I used it to politic. This all comes out of Washington, just like all of these prosecutors come out of Washington. They all come out. They send their prosecutors into the DA’s office. They send them into the attorney general’s office. These are bad people we’re dealing with,” Trump said. “They ask me to have a picture, and they say I was campaigning … The one thing I get is plenty of publicity. I don’t need that. I don’t need the publicity.”
“Joe Biden killed their children by incompetence,” Trump said on Thursday. “Kamala killed their children just as though they had a gun in their hand. … And then they accused me of having a picture taken at the tombstone with a family, because they love the president. They love me and I love them.”
But Harris doesn’t care, Trump said, calling Harris a “Marxist,” “fascist” and too “incompetent” to lead, as she was too apathetic as vice president on immigration.
“Here is what we know about ‘Comrade’ Kamala Harris. She just doesn’t care about the American people, especially hardworking people or middle-class Americans. She just doesn’t give a damn about you,” Trump said. “She does not care about the deaths, sex, slavery drugs or criminals coming across our border. She’s been vice president for almost four years, and she did nothing to stop the invasion of our country.”
Trump has campaigned on illegal immigration in Michigan several times, with Republican leadership in Michigan often rails against Biden’s border policy at the Mexican border. However, border crossings have declined significantly for the last five months.
Although Trump said there’s a lot of lies circulating about him and he will go down in history as the most poorly treated president, he said he is resolute to lead, arguing Harris is “no good” and Biden is “sleeping.” He added that voters are smart people and deserve a president who respects them and speaks to them at their level.
“I have your back. I have your heart and I have every other part of your body,” Trump said. “All of us today are part of the greatest political movement in the history of our country. This is the greatest movement in the history of our country.”
Along with promising secure borders and an economic boom, Trump said with a “smart president” like him, even countries like China and Russia don’t have to be adversaries, but the American people need to hold out until November, turn out and vote.
And although protecting reproductive rights have been at the core of Harris’ campaign, and abortion was a key issue driving voter turnout for 2022 Michigan Democratic victories, Trump argued on Thursday that Harris doesn’t stand for women’s rights.
“She just does not care. She does not care about women’s rights because she supported destroying women’s sports and athletic scholarships. She wants men to play in women’s sports,” said Trump, who supports a ban on transgender athletes.
Trump appointed three of the Supreme Court justices who voted to overturn Roe v Wade in 2022 and he’s taken credit for the decision. During this campaign, Trump has trumpeted that it’s now up to states to determine abortion policy.
“We have abortion. We have the whole thing brought back into the states where it belongs,”Trump said Thursday. “That’s where everybody wanted it for years and years and years, and they’re voting on it. And I happen to believe in the exceptions Ronald Reagan did for life of the mother, rape, incest, the exceptions, probably 90% of the people do.”
Trump has made many, sometimes contradictory statements about abortion. In 1999, for instance, Trump said, “I’m very pro-choice, I hate the concept of abortion … but… I still believe in choice.” During his 2016 campaign, he said “there has to be some form of punishment” for women who get abortions.
Polling has consistently shown strong support for abortion being legal in most cases and states like Michigan have enshrined protections for reproductive rights in their constitutions. At a July event in Michigan, Harris said that reproductive rights are still being threatened, contending that Trump will sign a national abortion ban if he wins in November.
At the same time, Trump told NBC Thursday he’s undecided on Florida’s abortion rights ballot measure and criticized the state’s abortion policy saying, “The six-week [ban] is too short. … I want more weeks. … We need more than six weeks.”
Democrats also have warned that another Trump presidency would endanger access to other forms of reproductive health care such as in vitro fertilization (IVF) as Republicans have introduced bans in some states.
But Trump announced Thursday that his administration will mandate insurance companies to pay for all costs associated with IVF treatment as part of a “pro-family” administration, although he did not release details.
Trump said he wanted to clear the air about his views, saying, “we want more babies, to put it very nicely.”
Michigan Advance is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Michigan Advance maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Susan J. Demas for questions: [email protected]. Follow Michigan Advance on Facebook and X.
Anna Liz Nichols covers government and statewide issues, including criminal justice, environmental issues, education and domestic and sexual violence. Anna is a former state government reporter for The Associated Press and most recently was a reporter for the Detroit News. Anna is a graduate of Michigan State University.
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