In the 2016 election Trump lost the Popular Vote by nearly three million ballots. He won the Electoral College by the smallest of margins. In three states, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan, a total of 77,000 votes decided who would be the 45^th president of the United States. Trump demonstrated his extreme ignorance today by waging a personal war against one of those states, Michigan.

I will attempt to keep this brief, but his many recent attacks on the ‘Wolverine State’ may have guaranteed a loss in November.

First, he threatened to withhold funding from Michigan, accusing Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson of “illegally” engaging in voter fraud by sending out absentee ballots to the state’s registered voters. Only Trump got everything wrong: Benson was sending absentee ballot applications and, far from doing so illegally, she was doing so under the authority of a constitutional amendment passed by fully 67% of Michigan voters in 2018. Trump was wrong once again. Senator Kamala Harris exposed Trump’s ignorance. “It is federal crime to withhold money from states with the purpose of interfering with people’s right to vote, so you may want to talk with your lawyer Bill Barr about that.” Another in a lifetime of failures.

He attended an event at the Ford plant which had switched its production of cars to ventilators. Although the rule in the plant required everyone to wear a mask protecting other employees and visitors, Trump refused to wear one in defiance of the rule. During his comments he revealed his disrespect for women when he referred to Governor Whitmer as “that woman from Michigan.” 70 percent of Michigan’s citizens wear masks in public.

Michigan’s state attorney general responded. Dana Nessel, had penned an open letter urging Trump to wear a mask and following his visit, Nessel told CNN: “The president is a petulant child who refuses to follow the rules, and I have to say, this is no joke.” Naturally, an immature Trump retaliated, calling Nessel “The Wacky Do Nothing Attorney General of Michigan” and endorsing a mass exodus of auto companies from the state.

During his speech at the plant Trump criticized Ford’s ultimate driving machine, the ‘GT.’ Priced at $750,000 it is far less expensive than foreign production vehicles, although it will appeal only to the super rich. “I wanted to buy one, then I heard the price. I said forget it. I said I’ll use one on occasion. But what a car that is, huh? What a car.” What a sales pitch from the nation’s chief executive.

And once again Trump revealed his support of white supremacists and neo-Nazis. Trump gave a shout-out to all those ‘neo-Nazis’ out there, playing up the “bloodlines” of Henry Ford, a known anti-Semite. “The company founded by a man named Henry Ford—good bloodlines, good bloodlines. If you believe in that stuff, you get good blood,” Trump said.

Trump virtually guaranteed a win for Democrats in Michigan in November. Once again his enormous ego became his greatest enemy.

Op-ed by James Turnage

Source

Image courtesy of DonkeyHotey

My eight novels are available on Amazon