Trump touts election fraud conspiracies, GOP candidates during Michigan visit
WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WWMT) – Former President Donald Trump visited Michigan on Saturday, marking Trump's first visit to the state since his loss to Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election. While Trump came to Michigan to stump for Republican candidates running for the November election, the focus of much of his speech was on the election he lost a year and a half ago.
Thousands of supporters filled Michigan Stars Sports Center in Washington Township in Macomb County to see the former president in person, with many wearing shirts and hats claiming Trump won the presidency in 2020.
- Previous coverage: Safety and logistics worries ahead of Trump rally in Michigan
Trump was in southeast Michigan to endorse Attorney General candidate Matthew DePerno and Secretary of State candidate Kristina Karamo, who have both espoused election fraud conspiracy theories, despite more than 250 audits in Michigan by Republican, Democratic and nonpartisan election officials determining there was no significant fraud in the 2020 election.
On Saturday night, Trump repeatedly teased a 2024 run for re-election in the White House.
"The truth is, I ran twice. We won twice – and we did much better the second time than we did the first. And now we'll have to do it again," said Trump.
At another point in the night, Trump asked supporters to cheer if they wanted him to run for president again.
In a statement following Trump's event, the Michigan Democratic Party called out Republican candidates who continued to stand by Trump despite official reviews and audits finding Biden won the 2020 presidential bout.
“Continuing to live in a false reality from 2020 isn’t helping Michiganders now and it’s definitely not showing them a path forward,” said Lavora Barnes, chair of the Michigan Democratic Party. “Repeating the Big Lie is dangerous and presents a very serious threat to our democracy.”
Trump also spoke in support of Line 5 and increased immigration, and told the crowd he knew Russian President Vladimir Putin well.
Multiple Republican gubernatorial candidates attended the Trump event, including Tudor Dixon, James Craig and Perry Johnson. Dixon was the only candidate Trump mentioned by name Thursday, though the former president held off on giving an endorsement to any candidate for governor.
