Trump turns attention to Michigan and Wisconsin, the ‘blue wall’ states he won, then lost
CNN
Donald Trump will return to the campaign trail on Tuesday with events in Michigan and Wisconsin, two critical Midwest battlegrounds that he won eight years ago but that have mostly vexed Republicans ever since.
Donald Trump will return to the campaign trail on Tuesday with events in Michigan and Wisconsin, two critical Midwest battlegrounds that he won eight years ago but that have mostly vexed Republicans ever since. The former president is scheduled to first appear in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he is expected to deliver remarks about the US-Mexico border. From there, Trump will travel to Green Bay, Wisconsin, for his first rally in the Badger State since launching his third White House bid. The visits come amid a notable lull in Trump’s campaign activity in the weeks since he became the presumptive GOP presidential nominee. Trump has held two campaign events since Super Tuesday — while the same time period has seen a surge in political activity from President Joe Biden, including his own stops in Michigan and Wisconsin. Trump, meanwhile, has unleashed a flurry of social media posts in recent weeks, attacking his Democratic rival and the judges and prosecutors overseeing the various legal cases against the former president. Along with Pennsylvania, Trump’s stunning 2016 victories in Michigan and Wisconsin produced a seismic crack in the so-called blue wall of states Democrats had relied on in every election going back to 1992. Trump’s particular success with blue-collar voters gave Republicans optimism for a political realignment that could turn the Rust Belt red for the foreseeable future. Instead, Republicans have struggled to replicate Trump’s initial success in subsequent elections, including in 2020 when Biden narrowly won all three states en route to victory. Democrats in that time also took over the governors’ offices in Michigan and Wisconsin and flipped a Senate seat in Pennsylvania in 2022 that proved crucial to maintaining control of the chamber. Still, gone are the days when Democrats could comfortably count on these states to deliver in national elections. Early polls suggest Michigan and Wisconsin pose a challenge for Biden and an opportunity for Trump to mine for electoral votes in the upper Midwest.
Pete Buttigieg is expected to forgo a run for Michigan’s open US Senate seat in 2026, according to two people familiar with the former transportation secretary’s plans, setting up a potential presidential bid in 2028.
The ambiguity of the president’s warning could pave the way for lawsuits. It also could be damaging, critics say, if it has the effect of stifling freedom of speech, among the nation’s most fundamental and heralded rights.
New Hampshire Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen’s decision to not seek reelection marks the latest bit of tough luck for Senate Democrats, who face an increasingly challenging midterm election map as they fight to climb out of the minority.
President Trump’s move to revoke deportation protections for Venezuelans has sparked a sense of betrayal in Doral, Florida, a Miami suburb that is home to more Venezuelan immigrants than any other city in the US.
A month after losing her job at the Department of Veterans Affairs, Corinne Bazarnyj is still waiting to be approved for unemployment benefits.
An explosion on the Texas Tech University campus in Lubbock set off fires and power outages Wednesday, leading school officials to issue evacuation orders for several buildings and cancel classes for the rest of the week.
Tim Walz is headed back out on the road – this time, for a tour of House districts represented by Republicans, some of whom have stopped holding town halls amid the raucous receptions their colleagues have gotten across the country.
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa has announced a “strategic alliance” to fight organized crime with Erik Prince, the founder of the controversial private defense contractor formerly known as Blackwater.
CNN’s 5 Things PM brings you the stories you might have missed during your busy day.
Indian authorities have arrested a Lithuanian man wanted by the US for allegedly running a $96 billion cryptocurrency exchange that allowed terrorist organizations, drug traffickers and cybercriminals to launder money.
A federal judge on Wednesday halted parts of President Donald Trump’s executive order that targeted a Democratic-linked law firm.
The sister of Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett was the target of a bomb threat at her home earlier this month in Charleston, South Carolina, police said Wednesday.
Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire announced Wednesday that she will not seek reelection in 2026, a decision that will bring an end to the senator’s historic career in Congress and sets up a competitive race for the Senate seat in the Granite State.