Trump Campaigns on Michigan Battlefield Amid Book Fallout

Supporters of President Donald Trump watch Air Force One land at a rally at MBS International Airport, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2020, in Freeland, Michigan (AP Photo / Jose Juarez)

FREELAND, Michigan – Reeling from another crisis of his own making, President Donald Trump tried to refocus attention on his Democratic rival at a Michigan battlefield rally Thursday as he pushed to overcome revelations that he deliberately downplayed. the danger of the coronavirus for the last time. winter.

But the virus controversy followed him as he faced fresh pushback from local officials concerned about the ever-increasing size of his demonstrations and the repeated failure to adhere to his campaign’s public health guidelines to stop the spread of COVID-19.

That includes Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who raised alarms about Thursday’s event and warned it would hamper recovery.

Trump, however, reveled in the crowd of several thousand, huddled shoulder to shoulder in a cavernous airport hangar, mostly without masks, with Air Force One on display as a backdrop.

“This is not the crowd of one person coming second,” Trump declared to applause as he criticized Whitmer for the current state restrictions.
“Tell your governor to open your state!” he demanded, saying the state would be better off if it “had a governor who knew what the hell he was doing.”

Before leaving the White House, Trump denied lying to the nation as he continued to grapple with the fallout from a new book by Washington Post journalist Bob Woodward.

In a series of interviews with Woodward, the president spoke candidly about the dangers posed by the virus, even as he publicly downplayed them, and admitted that he had tried to mislead the public.

“Donald Trump knew from the beginning how deadly this virus is,” Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden said at a virtual fundraiser. “He knew it and purposely downplayed it because the only thing he was worried about was his reelection, he didn’t want to affect economic growth.

But Trump, answering questions at the White House, insisted there was “no lie” in his often dismissive public comments, saying he only sought to project calm. He pointed out the steps he had taken, including implementing travel restrictions, but said: “That doesn’t mean I’m going to jump into the air and start saying, ‘People are going to die, people are going to die.’ . ‘”

But Trump seemed to have no problem leaning toward fear at his late-night rally as he launched unsubstantiated accusations at Biden and the Democrats, including the accusation that they want to shut down auto plants, despite the Obama administration’s work to save industry, and “delay.” the production of coronavirus vaccine.

Biden, he claimed, would end Trump’s travel bans, overwhelming the state “with poorly vetted migrants from jihadist regions” and refugees “from terrorist hot spots around the world.”

And he continued his racially charged appeal to suburban voters who addressed Democrats during the 2018 midterm elections, warning that under a Biden administration, “far-left lunatics” would be put in charge of the federal government and the courts and tribunals. American suburbs would be destroyed.

“Does anyone want to have an antifa member as a resident in their suburb? I don’t think so, “Trump declared, telling his supporters,” Your vote will save America. “

Trump has resumed an aggressive campaign program, despite the ongoing pandemic and amid growing resistance from local leaders who have voiced alarm over his insistence on large-scale demonstrations as Americans continue to fall ill and die.

While the rallies have so far been held in open-air airport hangars, they have attracted thousands of fans despite local restrictions. And most attendees, even in Michigan, have refused to wear masks, even when mandates exist.

Trump has characterized the demonstrations as “peaceful protests” and White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said attendees were exercising their First Amendment rights.

This week, the state of Nevada became the first to thwart its rally plans initially laid out for Las Vegas and Reno, after the Reno-Tahoe Airport Authority warned a company that it planned to house 5,000 people in a hangar. private that would be in violation. the governor’s restrictions prohibiting gatherings of more than 50 people and the terms of the company’s lease for the hangar.

“Outrageous!” Adam Laxalt, co-chair of Trump’s Nevada campaign, tweeted in response.

In Michigan, Governor Whitmer made no attempt to stop the rally, but warned that such events “threaten all the sacrifice we have made.”

“If the rallies are like the ones he has held in recent days in other states, with many people together without masks to project their voices, it worries me,” he said at a news conference Thursday morning. ‘

Michigan currently limits outdoor events to 100 people and requires attendees to wear masks if they cannot consistently stay 6 feet away from people outside their homes. However, there is an exception that states that nothing in the order can “summarize the protections guaranteed by the state or federal constitution in these emergency circumstances.”

Michigan is a vital Electoral College battleground, which Trump won by just 10,704 votes in 2016, helping him break through the Democrats’ “blue wall.” While Trump’s advisers had all but ruled out the state earlier this summer, they now say they have seen a tightening in recent weeks.

But Democrats also see optimism, as they made significant strides in the 2018 midterm elections, winning every major state office and also a handful of seats in Congress.

Both candidates have been making frequent visits, and Biden traveled to the Detroit suburbs on Wednesday to make a direct appeal to blue-collar workers who might have voted Republican four years ago but now regret it.

Trump declined Thursday, accusing Biden of supporting trade deals and policies that led to job losses in the United States.

“Joe Biden has dedicated his career to offshoring Michigan jobs,” Trump said, drawing boos from the crowd. “Biden supported all disastrous globalist sales for more than half a century.”

Michigan’s unemployment rate soared to 24% in April, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It has since recovered to 8.7%, but Michigan has nearly 414,500 fewer jobs than when Trump took office.

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