President Trump photo by Gage Skidmore.
The author, a regular contributor to Deadline Detroit, is a former reporter for The New York Times and Detroit Free Press.
President Trump photo by Gage Skidmore.
By Joe Lapointe
Neither Barack Obama nor Donald Trump are up for election this autumn, but both may play prominent roles in these vicious mid-term campaigns.
Obama -- the Democrat and former president -- will speak in Detroit on Friday at Cass Tech High School downtown. He doesn’t do a lot of these gigs. But Michigan Democrats might need his help to re-elect Debbie Stabenow as U.S. senator and to elect Gretchen Whitmer as governor.
Trump-- the Republican and current president – loves to do lots of rallies. At most of them, he bellows inflammatory hate speech that incites right-wing kooks to send bombs to Trump’s “evil” enemies.
This happened in recent days as explosives went to Obama and his wife, Michelle, Bill and Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, Maxine Waters, Eric Holder, Robert De Niro George Soros and CNN.
All these progressive Democrats and that cable news network are on the verbal hit list in Trump’s stump speech that gets his rowdy mobs chanting and cheering for their destruction.
He probably could get them to do that in Michigan, a state Trump brags about winning in 2016.
But – unlike Obama -- he doesn’t seem to want to visit the Great Lakes State this time around, especially Metro Detroit. Trump’s next scheduled rallies are in Charlotte, N.C., on Friday, Murphysboro, Ill., on Saturday and in Fort Myers, Fla., next Wednesday. That would leave less than a week.
Should Trump dare to show his orange face and yellow hair then in Metro Detroit, the 72-year-old demagogue might draw more protestors than fans in a community with many African-American, Arab-American, Muslim-American and Mexican-American voters. Trump’s constantly smears such people and spreads fear of them.
What Has Michigan Done for Him Lately?
At Trump rally in Macomb in April (Photo: Joe Lapointe)
Trump might not even play well in the exurbs. Last time he campaigned in Michigan – in April, in Washington Township, in Macomb County – the building that hosted his speech would have held about 6,000 people and it was at least one-third empty. Many in the audience streamed out the exit door with the speech half-finished. You can check the video.
But think of all Michigan has done for Trump! Aside from his 2,279,543– 2,268,839 margin over Clinton – a whole 10,704 votes -- the Wolverine State provided Trump’s cabinet with Dearborn’s own Tom Price, the former secretary of health and human services who got bounced early as a shameless grabber too greedy even for the Trump gang.
Michigan also gave Trump Betsy DeVos, the education secretary and public school enemy who help drive down Michigan’s scholastic levels with her privatization schemes.
Trump Backs God
Because his usual verbal targets had been threatened by bombs, Trump’s Wednesday night speech in Mosinee, Wis., lacked much of his usual fire-breathing.
“I’m trying to be nice,” he said sarcastically. “See how nice I’m behaving tonight?” In his stop in Joe McCarthy’s home state, Trump didn’t bother to mention the names of the bomb targets.
Then he segued from fake piety to an ominous tone that suggested the Democrats and the media are bringing these dangers upon themselves and they’d better watch their step if they know what’s good for them.
In his rambling remarks, Trump skipped his usual (literal) finger-pointing at the news media, which he has described as “fake news” and “enemies of the American people.”
His lack of vitriol seemed to disappoint an audience of cheeseheads west of Green Bay who became subdued because they couldn’t laugh and clap while chanting Trump’s Greatest Hits like “Lock Her Up!” and “Build That Wall!” and “CNN Sucks!”
Nevertheless, Trump got a chance to play his favorite role of city slicker to the hicks in the sticks. He told spooky stories about a mysterious Halloween horde of dark-skinned foreigners streaming toward our southern border.
“Boooo!” said those who know how to do it on cue.
Trump changed their tone when he stuck up for God.
“Yaaaaay!” they said.
Bring Nugent, Too
How long might Trump’s verbal restraint last? Surely it will wane in the next few days.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh
Remember how respectful he was at first to Christine Blasey Ford, who accused Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault?
After speaking respectfully about her for a few days, Trump broke loose at one of these rallies with a mockery of Dr. Ford that portrayed her as a confused liar.
This prompted his vile followers to scornfully laugh at a woman who reluctantly and politely dared to come forward with memories and allegations about rape.
Should Trump make a triumphant return to Michigan in the campaign’s final days, he would most likely head for the redder towns and counties on the west side of the state.
Such a visit could bring back memories. After all, he concluded his winning campaign there so well two years ago. On Election Day, just after midnight, Trump appeared in Grand Rapids at the DeVos Center. It would be just like him to return that dramatic way and maybe bring Betsy herself.
Also on that last weekend in 2016, Trump campaigned in Sterling Heights with Ted Nugent, a local musical artist, political philosopher and gun worshipper who praised the blue-collar workers of Macomb and Michigan as “the hardest-working shit-kickers mankind has ever known.”
Then Nugent mocked the plans of the progressives to turn Michigan Democratic blue.
Grabbing his crotch with his right hand, Nugent said: “I’ve got your blue state right here! Black and blue!”
Wouldn’t it be swell to reunite these two class actors back here again just to tell us how great it is now to be in a state so white and so red?
