Last updated: Wednesday, May 1, at 6:55 p.m. This post will be continuously updated with political and campaign news through the Nov. 5 general election.
FREELAND — Fighting criminal charges that threaten his comeback campaign, former President Donald Trump on Wednesday used a Michigan speech to suggest he is facing harsher treatment than notorious mobster Al Capone.
“Has anyone ever heard about him?,” Trump said of Capone, the Chicago-based crime boss who purportedly had several hideouts throughout Michigan.
“He would kill people if he looked at them and didn’t like them … He got indicted less than I did.”
Capone, however, was actually indicted on more than 5,000 violations under the prohibition-era Volstead Act, according to federal records.
Trump’s campaign rally in Saginaw County came amid a New York “hush money” trial focused on allegations he used campaign funds to keep an adult film star from going public with adultery allegations ahead of the 2016 election.
Related: Trump warns of tax hikes, EV doom in Michigan rally. Here are the facts
Judge Juan M. Merchan on Tuesday declared Trump in contempt of court for making critical statements of jurors and witnesses in the case. Another hearing is expected Thursday.
Trump is also battling federal charges for his alleged role in a plot to overturn 2020 election results in swing states like Michigan, along with related criminal charges in Georgia.
Trump vehemently denied wrongdoing during his Michigan speech and criticized what he called “fake cases.”
— Lauren Gibbons
FREELAND — Former President Donald Trump has drawn thousands of enthusiastic fans to Saginaw County for his latest Michigan rally. His allies say it’s a sign the former president’s momentum is building as he fights to retake the White House in November.
Supporters descended onto the Avflight hangar at MBS International Airport in Freeland on Wednesday, enjoying warm, sunny weather and the festival-like atmosphere typical of the former president’s rallies: MAGA merchandise booths, food trucks hawking hot dogs and prominent Republicans making the case for Trump.
“People are recognizing things were better under Donald Trump,” Michigan Republican Party Chair Pete Hoekstra told Bridge Michigan ahead of the former president’s speech. “There’s no doubt that one of the things that’s really fueling momentum is the chaos that we’re seeing with Joe Biden.”
Warm-up speeches at the Trump rally featured several current and former Michigan Republican candidates, including U.S. Senate hopeful Mike Rogers, state lawmakers and Tudor Dixon, who unsuccessfully challenged Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in the 2022 election.
Citing immigration issues, high inflation and global unrest, they stressed Michigan’s importance in the coming election, arguing flipping the swing state would be key to ending Biden’s tenure.
“We are going to work together to do something that Democrats don’t believe that we can do: win the state of Michigan,” Rogers said.
— Lauren Gibbons
President Joe Biden is headed to Detroit on May 19 for the 2024 NAACP Detroit Branch Fight for Freedom Fund Dinner. The event, which typically draws about 10,000 people to Huntington Place convention center, plans to honor Biden with a lifetime achievement award.
Related: Biden returning to Michigan for NAACP dinner in Detroit
It will be Biden’s third visit to Michigan this year and comes as polling shows he is in a tough race with former President Donald Trump in the state. Some African-American leaders also warned that Biden and fellow Democrats cannot take their…
This article was originally published by a www.bridgemi.com . Read the Original article here. .