The end of Trump's 'superstitious' election campaign 3
The Republican Party does not have a tradition of winning in Michigan, but candidate Donald Trump surprisingly won the state in the 2016 election. This year, this battleground state was also chosen as the ending point of the campaign.
`I heard he’s a bit superstitious,` said Melanie Thorwall, 63, who had been waiting since morning with her son so as not to miss the end of the Trump 2020 campaign in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Trump has a very busy schedule on the last day of the campaign.
Voters plant flags supporting Trump in Grand Rapids, Michigan on November 3.
Trump once described himself as `a very superstitious person`.
Trump’s former 2016 campaign manager Corey Lewandowski said in a book that to avoid `overstatement,` Trump did not let aides discuss what the White House would look like under his administration.
During the 2016 primary election, he called Fox and Friends every Monday because he thought doing so would help him maintain momentum.
`Donald Trump is one of the most superstitious people most people have ever encountered,` Lewandowski wrote.
Four years ago, Thorwall and his son did not have a chance to watch Trump’s rally.
Trump is the first Republican presidential candidate since 1988 to win Michigan – one of the strongest bricks in the Democratic Party’s `blue wall`.
`Have you ever thought about listening to an important speech like this at almost 1 a.m.? Are we crazy? Is this crazy? It’s crazy,` he said at the time.
`You will wake up in about two hours, will vote and then go back to work. I understand my fellow Michiganders,` he added.
The President’s supporters returned on November 2, full of expectations for another surprise after 4 years.
`He’s the only man who can turn me ‘curvy to straight,’` joked Abigail Wall, who wore a shirt that said Lesbians Support Trump.
`Whether he wins or loses, this is history,` said Kolleen, Wall’s mother.
How does the US presidential election take place?
How does the US presidential election take place?
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in 2016 was so sure she would win Michigan that she almost didn’t set foot in the state to campaign.
Michigan is not a fervent Trump supporter.
This is the land of unions and skilled labor, where world-famous automakers are headquartered.
`I will be back every time we open a new factory or auto plant,` Trump promised in 2016.
Last year, Michigan’s manufacturing industry lost 5,000 jobs and this year it lost 60,000 jobs due to the pandemic.
But the local economy isn’t dead: it’s just transitioning to automation.
One of the providers of many of the new jobs is Amazon, the online retailer that opened a large distribution center in Grand Rapids this year and is building another.
Rick Bekins, 62, sold his land to Amazon so they could build the center.
`Four years later, I still vote for him, because there is no better choice,` he said.
