The WØRD – “Demagogue” – Party on the Peninsulas

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From chairperson Lavora Barnes

That, in one sentence, defines Donald Trump and describes his grotesque speech in Grand Rapids.

Donald Trump came here to politicize a tragic loss and lie to Michiganders’ faces about his record. When President Biden negotiated a tough, fair, and bipartisan border security deal, it was Trump who pressured his MAGA cronies to kill the bill, allowing the chaos to continue.

No matter what he said in Grand Rapids, Donald Trump has no interest in being part of the solution because he doesn’t care about border security. He only cares about himself and whatever he thinks makes him look good, but Michiganders know the truth: Donald Trump has nothing to offer but dangerous rhetoric that promotes hate, division, and violence without making anyone safer.

Adding to that: he told the crowd he had talked with the family of murder victim Ruby Garcia. It was a lie, according to Ms. Garcia’s sister. Mavi Garcia said neither Trump nor anybody from his campaign has contacted her or anybody in her immediate family. She said her family is close and she would know if that had happened.

“It was shocking,” she told Wood TV. “I kind of stopped watching it. I’d only seen up to that, after I heard a couple of misinformations he said, I just stopped watching it. She said she’s angry that Trump and others have turned her sister’s death into something political.

“It’s always been about illegal immigrants,” she said. “Nobody really speaks about when Americans do heinous crimes, and it’s kind of shocking why he would just bring up illegals. What about Americans who do heinous crimes like that?”

When asked about the apparent lie by The Daily Beast, the Trump campaign refused to reveal with whom the criminal defendant candidate talked. (You can watch the WOOD-TV interview by clicking here.)

The Garcia family isn’t the only voice speaking out against Trump. The Washington Post published a truly shocking list this week of former top-level Trump appointees who have not endorsed his candidacy. Among them:

Vice President Mike Pence
Attorney General William Barr
Chief of staff General John Kelly
Chief of Staff Mark Mulvaney
Secretary of Defense General James Mattis
Secretary of Defense Mark Esper
National Security Adviser John Bolton
National Security Chief of European Affairs Col. Alexander Vindman
Joint Chiefs of Staff chair General Mark Milley
U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley
Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci
Press secretary Stephanie Grisham
Deputy press secretary Sarah Matthews
White House Counsel Ty Cobb
White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson
2016 Transition Director Chris Christie

As we noted last week you can add to that list President George W. Bush, and former Republican vice presidents Dick Cheney and Dan Qualye; Republican U.S. Senators Todd Young, Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins and Mitt Romney. And even family members/White House advisers Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner have said they won’t campaign for him.

An alternate “The Word” for this week’s podcast could have just as easily been “Hypocrite”. How else can you describe a man who very publicly attends the funeral of a slain New York police officer but has never even contacted the family of a Capitol policeman who died as a result of the January 6 insurrection, or the dozens of police officers who were attacked and injured by his mob?

Officer Brian Sicknick’s father told the New York Daily News – quote – “He makes sure he gets his face out there. The guy’s a criminal. He’s the reason my son is dead — because of the riot at the Capitol. He’s a publicity hound. Trump does whatever will get him votes and helps Donald Trump. There’s nothing good about that man.”

On this week’s podcast, we’re looking to our future, specifically the future of public transit in Michigan with the leader of a new bipartisan group working on the issue, Representative Jason Morgan (D-Ann Arbor). As we’ll hear from Representative Morgan that public transportation impacts all of Michigan, not just cities and suburbs.

The son of a commercial fisherman, Representative Morgan was raised in Pinconning. By working part-time and thanks to state and federal student aid, Representative Morgan worked his way through college as a first-generation college student, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Northern Michigan University. He later earned a Master of Public Administration from the Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan.

Representative Morgan served for six years as a Washtenaw County commissioner and was elected as the county’s first-ever LGBTQ-identified person to serve as chair of the Board of Commissioners. He also served as a Northern Michigan University trustee and is a service member of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary.

Over the last 15 years, Representative Morgan has worked in various leadership positions in Michigan and Washington, D.C. for Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and in senior staff positions to five members of Congress. Much of his career has focused on higher education, including working as a director of government and community relations and later teaching government at Washtenaw Community College.

The WØRD – “Demagogue”

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