Michigan leaders stand behind Biden in ‘fight for the soul of the nation’

Michigan Democrats are drawing a clear contrast between President Joe Biden’s effort to lower costs and create jobs and ex-President Donald Trump’s “record of failed policies.”

MICHIGAN—This week marks exactly seven months until the presidential election, where Michiganders could once again play a decisive role in deciding whether President Joe Biden or ex-President Donald Trump goes on to serve another four-year term in the White House. 

And with less than six months until millions of absentee ballots start hitting mailboxes across the state, Democratic leaders have united to form a clear message (and warning) for Michiganders:

“We’re making sure folks know that it was President Biden, Vice President Harris, and Democrats up and down the ticket who helped deliver nearly 400,000 jobs and they are fighting to protect health care at the federal level while Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans wants to rip all of that progress away,” said Mike Frosolone, Biden’s campaign manager in Michigan.

Here’s the deal: 

Shortly after last month’s State of the Union address, the Biden campaign launched a “Month of Action” in Michigan to engage and mobilize voters and volunteers ahead of the presidential election—or “the fight for the soul of the nation,” as the Biden campaign has described it.

Biden traveled to Saginaw earlier this month to meet with supporters and volunteers. And over the last several weeks, his campaign has scaled up operations across the state—with several key staff hirings and at least 30 new campaign offices set to open statewide by mid-April.

Meanwhile, outside of one inflammatory speech last week in Grand Rapids, Trump has maintained a minimal (if otherwise non-existent) campaign presence in Michigan, which state GOP chairman Pete Hoekstra recently described as a “skeleton” of a presidential campaign.

“President Biden and Vice President Harris know that the road to the White House goes through Michigan,” Frosolone told The ‘Gander in a statement this week. “That’s why the coordinated campaign is working quickly to directly engage voters across the state on the issues that matter most to their families while building a robust, well-experienced team here in Michigan.”

Biden in Saginaw

Both Democratic and Republican leaders have said that it will be next to impossible for either presidential candidate to win the White House this year without also winning in Michigan. 

(AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

With the campaign season heating up, Biden has begun hosting intimate conversations with families and small groups to discuss the issues most impacting their lives.

“President Joe Biden knows that if there is a place in America that he can tell his story to a people that need to hear it, Saginaw is that typical place,” Hurley Coleman Jr., a local pastor who met with Biden during his visit in Saginaw this month, told the Associated Press.

Michiganders Unite

To mark the first day of National Women’s History Month, Michigan women rallied in Detroit to support Biden’s re-election campaign. Among the participants were Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and state Sen. Sarah Anthony (D-Lansing), reports the Michigan Advance.

“I am here as a proud woman in Michigan who will be supporting Joe Biden,” Anthony said.

Benson also touted Biden’s support for reproductive freedom for women, which Michigan leaders have made clear would be jeopardized in another Trump presidency.

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Michiganders voted to enshrine reproductive rights into the state Constitution. And state lawmakers took it a step further by repealing a state law that criminalizes abortion care. But if ex-President Donald Trump and other Republicans take control of the federal government next year, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer thinks “this progress could be for naught.” Read more at the link in bio.

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Democrats also highlighted the Biden-Harris administration’s efforts to lower costs and ensure access to affordable healthcare—including by protecting federal funding for Medicare and Social Security, which Trump recently suggested should be on the table for future budget cuts.

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Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks wants to set the record straight: Over the course of ex-President Donald Trump’s presidency, Michigan lost 200,000 jobs—including 30,000 manufacturing jobs that moved overseas when six automotive factories closed. Watch the clip to hear what Brinks said about Trump’s “dangerous” policies.

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“There is a contrast between our president and the previous occupant in the White House who is trying to sneak his way back into the hall of power,” Anthony said, referring to Trump.

State Reps. Stephanie Young and Tyrone Carter also recently made a stop in Lansing to warn Michiganders about the threats that a second Trump term would pose to seniors, drawing a contrast with Biden, who has vowed to protect and strengthen Social Security and Medicare.

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More than 2 million Michiganders—including seniors and people with disabilities—would be at risk of losing their Social Security and Medicare if ex-President Donald Trump manages to take back control of the White House, said State Rep. Tyrone Carter (D-Detroit). Read more at the link in bio. . . . . . . . #seniors #disabilities #socialsecurity #medicare

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Lansing Mayor Andy Schor and state Rep. Julie Brixie (D-Meridian Township) also held a press conference on the 14th anniversary of the Affordable Care Act becoming law, and warned Michiganders about Trump’s plan to repeal the law—and raise costs—if elected in November.

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This month, Michigan Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist helped launch another new campaign office for President Joe Biden in Ypsilanti. And he offered a powerful message to Black Michiganders about what’s at stake in this year’s presidential election.

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READ MORE: Energy investments turn Michigan into ‘manufacturing powerhouse’

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Follow Political Correspondent Kyle Kaminski here.