Trump hit two critical Midwest battlegrounds on Tuesday, first stopping in Grand Rapids, Michigan, then traveling to Green Bay, Wisconsin — “blue wall” states he won in 2016, then lost to President Joe Biden four year later.
Yet in a speech peppered with blunders, Trump — who faces two criminal indictments brought against him by the Justice Department and in Georgia stemming from his efforts to overturn the 2020 election — took the stage in the badger state and proceeded to paint an alternate reality in which he was declared the victor.
“You know, we won this state. We won this state by a lot. It came out that we won this state,” Trump falsely told his crowd of supporters gathered in Green Bay.
Elsewhere, Trump’s usual anti-immigration fear-mongering backfired when he pledged to deport anyone invaded by “illegal aliens.”
“If your constitutional rights have been violated we will defend you,” Trump promised. “If you have illegal aliens invading your home, we will deport you.”
The ex-president continued to lose track of his own narrative, at one point appearing to misread his teleprompter while slipping into a tangent on “master locks.” In another flub, Trump encouraged the crowd to show him their “voting booths.”
Earlier in Michigan, Trump declared the country was facing a “bloodbath” from migrant crime, and threatened that if he didn’t win in November, the “country is going to cease to exist.” He insisted, “It could be the last election we ever have. I actually mean that. If we don’t win, I think this could be the last election we ever have.”
Trump’s dangerous rhetoric has ramped up in recent weeks, as his legal woes mount from an onslaught of judicial rulings and increased scrutiny into his political and business activities. In the former president’s hush money trial regarding alleged payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, Trump has repeatedly attacked the daughter of New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan.
On Monday, as news broke that his social media company Truth Social reported losses of $58 million in 2023 just days after making its debut on the stock market, Trump averted the collection of a $454 million penalty and seizure of his assets by posting a $175 million bond in the New York civil fraud case against him. Trump, his flagship company, as well as several employees and family members, were found liable for fraud in September after the state alleged they had ripped off investors and taxpayers by manipulating the values of Trump’s properties.
