Ten days before Michiganâs presidential preference contest, President Trump rallied supporters; he vowed to end âweaponizationâ of the US justice system.
A day after a New York judge issued a $355 million fine against him and his businesses, former President Donald Trump launched a Michigan rally by calling the decision âa lawless, unconstitutional atrocity that sets fire to our laws.â
Speaking to a crowd that overflowed an airport hangar in Waterford Township northwest of Detroit on Feb. 17, President Trump declared, âWhen we win back the White House, we will have no higher priority than ending the weaponization of this horrible legal system that has developed around us.â
The Republican frontrunner for the presidential nomination blames Democrats for spearheading multiple civil and criminal cases against him as âelection interference.â
Regardless, President Trump has won by historic proportions in all four Republican presidential preference contests thus far: Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
He and his sole remaining GOP rival, Nikki Haley, will face off against each other in South Carolina, the state where she formerly served as governor, on Feb. 24. Three days later, Michigan will hold its Republican primary.
President Trump said he expects âa monumental victoryâ in the Wolverine State, he told the crowd. That would send a message to Democrat President Joe Biden and his allies ahead of the Nov. 5 general election, President Trump said, adding: âWe have to let âem know that a freight train is coming in November.â
During his 80-minute speech, President Trump asserted that President Bidenâs policies are hurting Michiganâs automobile manufacturing industry and threatening good-paying union jobs.
But first the former president spent several minutes telling the audience why he considers the New York case âa complete and total sham.â
A Case Unlike Any Other
On Feb. 16, New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron ruled that President Trump and the Trump Organization were liable for inflating the value of their assets to receive better rates from lenders and insurers.
âJudge Engoron just fined me $355 million for doing everything right,â he told the Michigan crowd, adding, âAnd these repulsive abuses of power are not just an attack on me; theyâre really an attack on you and all Americans.â
The stateâs attorney general, Letitia James, brought the civil fraud case even though, as President Trump put it, âthere were no victims, no defaults, no damages, no complaints.â
âThis was a case of satisfied banks and insurance companies, which made a lot of money dealing with me,â President Trump said, adding, âThey were very happy and they testified that way.â
She said that President Trump is âfinally facing accountability for his lying, cheating, and staggering fraud.â
But President Trump says he has done nothing wrongâand that Ms. James and others are singling him out unfairly because they are his political enemies.
Ms. James advanced the civil case against him âunder a consumer fraud statute that has never ever been used before for this purpose,â President Trump said. One news outlet that had been âunfriendlyâ to him even acknowledged that its extensive research found no such case âever brought like this in the history of New York State.â
The court denied President Trump the right to a trial by jury âbecause under the statute, they have the right to do whatever they want to do,â he said.
Noting that an appeal of Justice Engoronâs ruling is planned, President Trump said, âHopefully, the whole thing is going to be thrown out and reversed.â
He predicts the case will have far-reaching implications.
âAs a result of this decision, businesses are going to flee New York State … taking with them tens of thousands of jobs because they canât subject themselves to this,â President Trump said.
And, he said, âif this persecution of political opponents continues, no one will want to do business in the United States of America any longer.â
Lost Money Serving as President
President Trump said the big judgment against him is ironic, given that the presidency cost him moneyâyet other politicians find ways of raking in more cash while they hold public office.
Republicans in Congress are tracing millions of dollars that flowed into the bank accounts of President Bidenâs relatives.
âCrooked Joe is not working for you. Heâs working for himself,â President Trump alleged, adding, âAs President Harry Truman said, âShow me a man that gets rich being a politician and I will show you a crook.ââ
President Trump said he knew it would cost him to campaign for office and to serve as president. Yet it was âthe best thing I ever did,â President Trump said, as the audience erupted in cheers, because his presidency made America great.
During the Biden administration, âtheyâve blown it.â
âBut,â he said, âweâre gonna make it greater than ever before.â
The Battle for Unionsâ Support
About halfway through his speech, the crowd chanted, âWe love Trump!â
The former president replied, âThank you … I love you, too, or I wouldnât be doing this.â
At one point, President Trump spotted a man in the crowd, whom he’d met backstage; he invited the man, who was wearing an âAuto Workers for Trumpâ T-shirt, to join him onstage.
âThank you, President Trump. We got your back,â the man said into the microphone. âThe auto workers are gonna support this guy, like we did in â16, â20; weâre gonna do it again in â24! Eighty-five million of us are gonna vote for this guy. They canât cheat enough to beat him!â
President Trump said the policies of the Biden administration are hurting Michiganâs auto workers and other citizens.
The Biden administration is mandating electric vehicles, President Trump said, calling it a âhit job on Michigan manufacturing jobs.â
But President Trump told his rally audience, which included many auto workers: âA vote for Biden is a vote to send tens of thousands of Michigan jobs to China and other places that we donât want âem to go. A vote for Trump is a vote to keep those manufacturing jobs in America, and add a lot of jobs.â
He criticized President Bidenâs refusal to continue building the U.S.-Mexico border wall. That decision, coupled with leniency for illegal immigrants, represents âthe biggest threat to your unions,â President Trump said.
Illegal immigrants will displace union workers because theyâre willing to work for much lower wages, he said.
President Trump also accused President Biden of implementing policies that are shifting businesses away from America.
President Trump estimated that 2.5 million illegal immigrants have received work permits during the Biden administration; he thinks up to 18 million additional illegal immigrants will have entered the country illegally by the time President Bidenâs term is up in 2025.
âMigrant Crimeâ
Illegal immigrants are committing crimes that affect all citizens, President Trump said.
âWe have a new category of crime in our country; itâs called âmigrant crime,â and itâs taking over America,â he said, later referring to it as âBiden migrant crime.â
In Michiganâs Oakland County, where President Trump was holding his rally, âyour sheriff has recently stated that organized criminal squads of illegal alien gang members are hiding in the trees,â President Trump said.
These âsquadsâ are breaking into rural and suburban homes at nighttime and âplundering them for jewelry, purses, electronics, cash, watches, and anything else they can get their hands on,â President Trump said.
âIf you donât want to have illegal alien criminals crawling through your windows and going through your drawers … then vote against Crooked Joe Biden,â he said.
President Trump said he believes more people are supporting him because they know he will combat such problems. They also remember being âbetter offâ during his presidency, he said.
Original News Source Link – Epoch Times
Running For Office? Conservative Campaign Consulting – Election Day Strategies!