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USA Today
24-04-2025
- Business
- USA Today
Trump headed to Macomb County, Michigan on April 29 to celebrate 100 days in office
Trump headed to Macomb County, Michigan on April 29 to celebrate 100 days in office Show Caption Hide Caption Sewell quotes Martin Luther King Jr. in Trump inauguration prayer Rev. Lorenzo Sewell, senior pastor at 180 Church in Detroit, delivered a prayer during the benediction at Donald Trump's second inauguration. President Trump will hold a rally in Macomb County, Michigan, on April 29, 2025. The rally is intended to celebrate the first 100 days of his second term. Trump's visit comes amid declining job approval ratings and concerns over his trade policies, particularly tariffs affecting the auto industry. President Donald Trump will make his first visit to Michigan of his second term in office on Tuesday, April 29, as he heads to Macomb County for a rally. Trump is expected to make the stop in metro Detroit to commemorate the passing of the first 100 days into his second term, which comes on April 30. Trump was inaugurated on Jan. 20. No other details about the event, including the time, venue or public availability of tickets were immediately available. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed the visit on social media platform X, with a statement saying, "President Trump is excited to return to the great state of Michigan next Tuesday, where he will rally in Macomb County to celebrate the FIRST 100 DAYS!" U.S. Rep. John James, R-Shelby Township, whose district includes much of southern Macomb County also posted about the visit on X, saying, "Macomb County is honored to welcome President @realDonaldTrump back to MICHIGAN to celebrate the first 100 days of America's New Golden Age." Macomb County is honored to welcome President @realDonaldTrump back to MICHIGAN to celebrate the first 100 days of America's New Golden Age. Together, we will Make Michigan Great Again. 🇺🇸 — John James (@JohnJamesMI) April 23, 2025 "Together, we will Make Michigan Great Again," said James, who is running for the Republican nomination for governor next year. James' post included a photo of him and the president together. The Detroit News first reported the presidential visit on Wednesday evening ahead of Leavitt's and James' postings, citing Republican sources. The visit will be the first by Trump since beginning his second, nonconsecutive term, as well as his first since winning Michigan in last November's election, when he defeated Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, 49.7% to 48.3%. Trump also won Michigan in 2016 en route to securing his first term in office and lost it in 2020 to Democratic former President Joe Biden. Trump won Macomb County in all three elections and was a regular visitor throughout all three campaigns: In the 2024 race, he spent no fewer than 17 days barnstorming Michigan and held a rally in Grand Rapids just ahead of the balloting as he had in his other campaigns. Trump is coming to Michigan at a time when his job approval ratings have been slipping nationally amid his pursuing an aggressive agenda to remake the federal government and institute a wide range of import tariffs on goods that have fueled worries they could spark a recession. Detroit automakers are especially worried that tariffs on autos and auto parts could result in snarling supply chains, spiking prices and tanking sales. The president, who has also seen the stock market ride a roller-coaster of abrupt losses in recent weeks, has argued that tariffs will lead to more investment in auto manufacturing and that several automakers are already announcing plans to expand U.S. operations to avoid paying them. Trump, however, has teased the possibility of giving automakers a break on some tariffs, though no announcement to that effect has been made. Contact Todd Spangler: tspangler@ Follow him on X @tsspangler.
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Democrats say Michigan House committee is a ‘circus' after platforming election deniers
From left to right; Deputy Secretary of State Aghogho Edevbie, and State Reps. Stephen Wooden (D-Grand Rapids), Matt Koleszar (D-Plymouth) host a press roundtable to discuss what they say is House Republicans' weaponization of the House Election Integrity Committee. March 25, 2025. Michigan House photo. After Detroit-area pastor Lorenzo Sewell, an advocate of President Donald Trump, testified this week in the newly renamed Michigan House Election Integrity Committee, Republican and Democratic members of the committee are at odds on their respective visions of fair elections. While Republicans regarded the testimony of Sewell and Detroit-area activist Ramon Jackson, who alleged without proof mass fraud in recent presidential elections, as an important look at Michigan's election systems, Democrats decried the day as nothing more than a 'circus'. Sewell, the pastor of 180 Church in Detroit, who delivered the benediction at Trump's second inaugural in January and gained national attention for his impassioned speech, was a key surrogate in 2024 for Trump's campaign to win over voters in Detroit, a historically Democratic voting block. And though support for Trump increased in Detroit in 2024 compared to his 2016 run, Sewell told lawmakers the people of Detroit are being misrepresented in elections due to 'cheating' and he and Jackson are looking to change that. 'Just like Detroit has moved the world through music with Motown, just like Detroit has moved the world through the automotive industry, so it is Detroit is about to move the world with fair elections, because if we don't have fair elections, we do not have a democracy. We don't have fair elections, we're like China. We have literally become what we hate if we don't have fair elections,' Sewell said. Sewell introduced Jackson as the 'political minister' of 180 Church, which hosted Trump for a campaign visit in June. Jackson told lawmakers on the committee that he had evidence of individuals who say they didn't vote or have since left the city but their vote was counted in Detroit. And the search for 'poison' in Michigan's Qualified Voter file isn't over, Jackson said, and members of the church will continue to seek out examples of fraud. During the hearing, Rep. Matt Koleszar (D-Plymouth) asked Jackson for details on the allegations he was making. 'You had mentioned that you knew that a lot of these alleged illegal votes were going to Democratic candidates saying they voted straight ticket Democratic Party,' Koleszar said. 'Sir, voting is secret ballot, so how could you possibly know that?' 'I know that based on who won. A cheated vote won't go to a loser,' replied Jackson. Committee Chair Rep. Rachelle Smit (R-Martin) thanked the pair for testifying and for investigating the issue of reported fraud in Detroit. 'These reports and claims are very concerning, especially since we are repeatedly told that our elections are completely safe and secure,' Smit said in a statement after the committee hearing. 'If these claims are accurate, and the scale and scope are this bad, then Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Attorney General Dana Nessel clearly aren't doing their jobs, and they're failing the people of Michigan.' But it's Republican leadership that is failing the people of Michigan, Koleszar said in his own statement after the committee. Koleszar and other Democrats have condemned actions taken by the House's election committee, which has been given an 'integrity' focus, by new GOP leadership who have repeated Trump's disproven claims that he was cheated out of victory in the 2020 election. 'In the last few weeks, the House Elections Integrity Committee has devolved into a three-ring circus,' Deputy Secretary of State Aghogho Edevbie said following Tuesday's hearing. 'Today, Chair Smit decided to ignore verified information from the qualified voter file and over 250 bipartisan audits to once again relitigate the 2020 presidential election. Her continued attempts to defile Michigan voters demonstrates a stunning and profound lack of seriousness.' Currently, House Republicans are pursuing an amendment to the state constitution that would require proof of citizenship to vote in Michigan, which several Democrats have criticized as being akin to a poll tax while potentially keeping women who've changed their last name after getting married from being able to vote. 'It is disheartening to see the Republican leaders of the Election Integrity Committee continue to platform election deniers and prioritize their own political agenda over working on legislation that could make a real positive impact on Michiganders' lives,' Koleszar said in the statement. 'They are wasting taxpayer dollars by creating a circus of election disinformation, rather than governing responsibly. It's time to stop rehashing the past and stop misusing government time.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX