Bipartisan Chorus Slams Michigan Leaders for Meeting with Trump Amid Bogus Election Claims

“This goes beyond partisan politics, and it’s an attempt to subvert our democracy and undermine the will of Michigan voters,”

Ahead of Trump’s meeting with Michigan House Speaker Lee Chatfield and Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, a growing bipartisan chorus of Michigan leaders have spoken out against the meeting and the attempts by the Trump administration to circumvent the will of Michigan voters. As of the last vote total, President-elect Biden is leading Michigan by over 150,000 votes.

Both Republican and Democratic Michigan Leaders have condemned the visit and attempts from the Trump campaign to reject the will of voters: 

Reps. Elissa Slotkin and Paul Mitchell in Detroit News: “It’s because of that risk that we must call upon elected and appointed leaders in Michigan to rise above the political pressure and the conspiracy theories and to lead as if your state and your country depend on you. Because they do. We remind our colleagues at all levels of government that history will judge us all and we should all act accordingly. Doing the right thing and the hard thing are often the same thing. Let’s show the country that Michigan residents believe in our democracy more than anything else.”

Rep. Fred Upton: “The margin in Michigan is more than 145,000 and will not be overturned … No one has been able to show credible evidence of voter fraud, and I have not heard of any irregularities from my district. It’s time for us to move forward.”

The Hill: Rep. Debbie Dingell: “This goes beyond partisan politics, and it’s an attempt to subvert our democracy and undermine the will of Michigan voters,”

Fox 2 Detroit: State Rep. Tyrone Carter: “They need to choose the United States over the person sitting in the office. He is not a king, he is not a dictator, he is an occupier,”

Detroit News Editorial: “Trump’s ongoing scheming to throw out votes and block the certification of Michigan’s election results will not produce more than the more than 150,000 votes separating him from President-elect Joe Biden. But they will enhance the division and distrust emanating from the recent election.”

Greeting Shirkey in Detroit at DTW:

Fox2 Detroit: Michigan Senate Leader Shirkey swarmed by activists at airport before flying to meet with Trump: “At the airport, activists holding signs chanted ‘protect our vote’ at Shirkey as he printed out a boarding pass and got in line to walk through security.”

Nick LaFave: Sen Shirkey flying out of Detroit to DC for his meeting w @realDonaldTrump.

Greeting Shirkey and Chatfield in DC: 

A mobile billboard showing the CNN projection of Biden’s victory in Michigan and quoting Rep. Upton: “The votes have been counted. The American people have spoken, and they have chosen Joe Biden to serve as our next president.” See More

Brad Woodhouse: “Check out the mobile billboard we have driving around the White House today greeting the Michigan Republicans conspiring with ⁦@realDonaldTrump⁩ to steal the election. Courtesy of Save My Country Action Fund”

Protestors at Reagan Airport (DCA) in Washington, D.C. 

Kyle Stewart of NBC News: “.@SenMikeShirkey just arrived at Reagan Airport and was immediately surrounded by protestors chanting “Certify the results!” Shirkey and other Michigan GOP lawmakers are expected to meet with @realDonaldTrump today.”

Marshall Cohen of CNN: “Protesters greeted Michigan Senate Majority Leader @SenMikeShirkey with ‘shame on you’ chants when he arrived today in DC before his WH meeting with Trump, who is urging the Michigan legislature to overturn Biden’s win. Shirkey has previously said ‘that’s not going to happen.’”

Politico: “Shirkey and state Sen. Tom Barrett were met by a throng of protesters and reporters outside Reagan National Airport upon their arrival Friday. The pair passed through the airport without talking to the media. Earlier this week Shirkey told Bridge Michigan, a nonprofit news outlet, that the idea the legislature would defy the voters is ‘not going to happen.’’