Donald Trump claims he ‘won’ Michigan in 2020 — and will again

• A day after new revelations in his federal election interference case, Donald Trump again claims he ‘won’ Michigan in 2020
• The former president rallied at Saginaw Valley State University in Kochville Township, before an audience of several thousand.
• Trump promised to cut taxes and impose tariffs on auto imports, calling Michigan “the lack-of-car capital of the world”

KOCHVILLE TOWNSHIP — One day after new election interference allegations were levied against Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee used a Michigan speech to repeat false claims he “won” the state in 2020.

“We did win — it was a rigged election,” the former president said Thursday during a rally at Saginaw Valley State University, where he predicted he will beat Democratic nominee Kamala Harris in Michigan on Nov. 5. 

The comments followed a new filing by Special Counsel Jack Smith in federal court, where Trump is facing multiple felony counts, including conspiracy to defraud the U.S. by attempting to overturn his 2020 election loss. 

The new indictment was written in reaction to a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling that determined presidents have absolute immunity for official acts, requiring Smith to reframe the allegation around the new restrictions.

While Trump has previously claimed mail-in voting is corrupt, he said Thursday that his supporters should consider the option in Michigan, where absentee ballots went out last week ahead of the Nov. 5 election. 

“If you want, go out and get that ballot, return it as soon as possible, and if not get a ballot, just go and vote,” he said, encouraging voters to back him in such large numbers that the election will be “too big to rig.”

Related:

• Michigan GOP walks fine line on absentee voting, as Trump sends mixed messages
• Donald Trump calls Michigan auto industry an ‘afterthought.’ Here are the facts
• ‘Make them riot’ in Detroit. Trump 2020 election case marked by new allegations

Republicans have struggled to promote mail-in voting after years of casting doubt on the method’s reliability. Trump supporters who spoke to Bridge Michigan at the rally said they didn’t trust mail-in voting, but some were also skeptical about the legitimacy of in-person voting.

Harris’ campaign countered in a statement: “Donald Trump can’t lead our country forward because he refuses to let go of the past. … Instead of offering any real solutions, the closing message from Trump and his running mate to battleground voters is a lie to undermine our democracy.”

If reelected, Trump could immediately end the federal prosecutions against him through the appointment of a new attorney general. He also faces charges in Florida for the improper storage of and refusal to return classified documents after the end of his presidency.

Trump has called the indictment part of a "witch hunt" to deny him a return to the White House.

Thousands of Trump supporters gathered at Saginaw Valley State University’s Ryder Center, but the capacity 4,932-person gym was not full when he took the stage shortly after 3 p.m. Some attendees left before the speech concluded.

Saginaw County is considered a bellwether for the state after President Joe Biden won it by less than 300 votes in 2020. The county has voted for the winning presidential candidate in every general election since 2008.

Harris is scheduled to visit Flint on Friday for a rally with supporters. She and her vice presidential candidate Tim Walz have not visited the state as frequently as Trump and his running mate JD Vance, who consider Michigan a top target. 

Vance was in Auburn Hills Wednesday for an event, just one day after facing Walz in what is expected to be the election’s only vice presidential debate.

“How good did JD Vance do?,” Trump asked attendees, who responded with raucous cheers and chanted “JD.”

Auto jobs

Trump used his Michigan speech to repeat familiar claims about the economy, his opponent’s policy proposals and the state of Michigan’s automobile industry, quipping he calls the state “the lack-of-car capital of the world.”

As previously reported, Michigan produces by far the most cars of any state in the U.S. China surpassed the U.S. long before Trump became president. U.S. auto production declined while he was in office, from 11.2 million in 2017 to 10.9 million in 2019, excluding the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

Trump promised he would use tariffs to deter auto imports and bolster the domestic industry, arguing that if he’s “not elected, you will not be making any more cars in Michigan. It's all going to be moved over to China.”

Michigan lost vehicle manufacturing jobs during Trump's prior tenure, including before COVID-19. Federal data shows the state lost about 100 car jobs under Trump and has gained about 6,200 under Biden. The state lost auto parts jobs under both presidents.

Trump claimed Harris supported an immediate ban on all gasoline vehicles, which is also untrue. Harris supported banning new gas-fueled vehicles by 2035 during her presidential campaign. But her current campaign has since said — without explanation — that she does not support an electric vehicle mandate. 

More tax cuts

On taxes, Trump said he would extend his 2017 tax cuts, further slash the corporate tax rate and exempt tips, overtime pay and Social Security benefits from taxation. 

Trump also repeated inaccuracies about Harris’ proposed tax policy, claiming that “if Kamala is reelected, one of her very first acts will be to massively raise taxes for the American family.”

While Harris has proposed raising some taxes — those plans are limited to corporations and the wealthiest Americans. Harris has said she won’t raise taxes on anyone making less than $400,000. Her unrealized capital gains tax would only be for ultra-wealthy Americans worth $100 million or more. 

Abolish Education Department

“Removing the department of education — your state is going to control your child’s education,” Trump said. “We’re going to let the great state of Michigan control your child’s education.”

Michigan continues to struggle on national and state assessments and its unclear how eliminating the department would improve Michigan’s educational struggles. It’s also unclear how Trump would abolish the federal department, which would likely require congressional approval.

Democrats currently control all levels of Michigan government, along with the State Board of Education, meaning ending the federal department would likely shift more responsibilities to Democratic officials and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. 

That said, the state House, where Democrats hold a one-seat majority, is up for election this year and Republicans can retake control by flipping a few key districts.

Trump also criticized policies allowing transgender athletes to compete on teams consistent with their identity, saying, “we will keep men out of women’s sports” and earning some of the loudest applause during the event.

Trump claimed he handpicked Michigan GOP chair

As he has at other rallies, Trump praised new Michigan GOP chair Pete Hoekstra, his former ambassador to the Netherlands, for his leadership. But he also offered some insight into how Hoekstra came to lead the party.

“I called him, I said, ‘You gotta take over the party. I want you,’” Trump said. “Wasn’t that easy to get him.”

Hoekstra ascension came amid a fracture within the state party between those loyal to former chair Kristina Karamo — who had been ousted in a controversial meeting — and other delegates frustrated by lackluster fundraising, organization and transparency from Karamo’s administration.

As the party was electing a new chair, aides close to Trump had denied he had endorsed Hoekstra, and he did not do so publicly, though rumors had spread among party delegates that Hoekstra had Trump’s support.

Karamo’s supporters, a considerable portion of the party’s state committee, continued to back Trump, but his level of involvement in determining a successor had never been made public.