GOP Congressman Butters Trump Up at Rally By Parroting His False Election Claim: ‘You’ve Won Three Times!’

Rep. John James (R-MI), who’s currently running for governor of Michigan, parroted President Donald Trump’s false 2020 election claim during a rally at a General Motors plant on Monday.

Trump introduced several politicians to come to the podium during the rally, including Rep. Lisa McClain (R-MI), Rep. Tom Barrett (R-MI), and James.

“John James, come up!” Trump bellowed. “You have to win, John James!”

“Thank you, Mr. President, for coming back to Michigan, where you won three times,” James said.

However, the flattery may have gone unnoticed by Trump, who remained stone-faced behind the gubernatorial candidate.

James continued:

We very much appreciate your leadership. And as governor of the state of Michigan, we’re going to be matching those Trump accounts. We’re going to be taking care of our children. We’re going to be matching those. You know, we have a president who keeps his promises. We have a president who looked at a situation and he said ‘You’re going to have very fast planes in Macomb County. You know what he did? In the very first 100 days the president of United States, President Donald J. Trump delivered F-15 EX to Selfridge National Guard Base.

As the audience applauded, Trump smiled and appeared to mouth, “true, true.”

Once Trump backed James last month, two of his opponents — former Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox and State Senator Aric Nesbitt — suspended their campaigns and also backed James.

James now faces businessman Perry Johnson (R) in the August 4 primary. Johnson put $30.8 million of his own money toward his campaign, according to a recent disclosure.

The winner will face either current Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson (D) or Genesee Co. Sheriff Chris Swanson (D).

Incumbent Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s (D) term ends Jan. 1, 2027. Whitmer, who took a “conciliatory” approach to working with Trump, has given mixed signals on whether she’ll run for president in 2028.

Watch the clip above via NewsNation.

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!