Former President Donald Trump returned to Michigan on Saturday night to boost support for two Republican candidates he wants to see elected as the state’s chief law enforcement officer and election official, inserting himself into the nominating process three weeks before state GOP delegates endorse their picks for down-ballot races.
The two Trump-backed candidates — Matt DePerno for attorney general and Kristina Karamo for secretary of state — are political newcomers who gained prominence after the 2020 election for peddling misinformation and unproven claims of corruption in that year’s presidential balloting, which Trump lost to Joe Biden in Michigan by more than 154,000 votes.
Beginning his speech about 7:30 p.m., Trump immediately attacked President Joe Biden and began hammering at false claims that the 2020 election in the state was rife with fraud and corruption.
“The presidential election was rigged and stolen and because of that our country is being destroyed,” he said as the speech began. “We did win, we did win. … We won by a lot, not just a little.” Touting DePerno and Karamo, Trump said the pair “will protect us from a corrupt election.”