Former President Donald Trump selected Grand Rapids, Michigan, for one last rally on Monday to conclude his 2024 presidential campaign.
Grand Rapids is a historic location for Trump. It is where he finished both his 2016 and 2020 campaigns, rallying supporters late into the evening.
November 4, 2024, was no exception. Trump arrived in Grand Rapids late in the evening with supporters packed into an arena and patiently waiting for his final appearance.
Trump delivered his classic entrance with a red tie, navy blue suit, and Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA,” proudly standing tall for his supporters to get a glimpse of him. “USA, USA, USA,” the crowd chanted.
“We’re leading going in, by hundreds of thousands of votes, but just pretend we’re tied or losing by a little bit because we want to put on a display tomorrow of unity,” he continued.
“I’d like to begin by asking a question, are you better off now than you were four years ago?” he asked.
“No!” the crowd replied.
“Because over the past four years, Americans have suffered one catastrophic failure, betrayal, and humiliation after another. Kamala has delivered soaring prices and true economic anguish at home, war and chaos abroad, and a nation-destroying invasion on our southern border, invasion of some of the greatest criminals in the world that are pouring into our country. And we’re not going to take that. We’re going to end that like immediately.”
“My message to you and to all Americans tonight is very simple: We do not have to live this way. We don’t have to live this way,” Trump said.
The Wolverine State could play an important role in Trump’s effort to complete the greatest political comeback in modern American history. It is a Rustbelt swing state with 15 Electoral College votes.
If Trump wins either Michigan, Pennsylvania, or Wisconsin, he will likely complete the comeback, many political experts believe, assuming Trump performs as expected elsewhere in the Sunbelt.
Trump is running within the margin of error against Vice President Kamala Harris, state polling shows. Trump won the state in 2016 by 0.3 percentage points. He lost it in 2020 by 2.8 percentage points.