Watch: Trump Talked About His Fake ‘Man of the Year’ Acceptance Speech But Didn’t Mention Fake Award
President Donald Trump has been claiming for years that he won “Michigan Man of the Year” in 2013, but in a Fox News interview at the time, Trump mentioned the speech at which he supposedly won this award, and failed to meantin the great honor.
Dating at least as far back as the 2016 presidential campaign, Trump has been claiming to have won an award called “Michigan Man of the Year,” and he did so again at his rally in Manchester, New Hampshire this week. Here are just five of the times Trump has made this claim:
CNN fact-checker extraordinaire Daniel Dale has been trying to figure out what the hell Trump is talking about, and this week, finally seems to have gotten to the bottom of it. Former Michigan Republican Congressman Dave Trott — whom Trump can be seen thanking in that last clip — told Dale that there was no such award.
I have made progress on the Michigan Man investigation.
Former GOP congressman Dave Trott calls to say Trump claimed to him that he was given the award at a Lincoln Day dinner Trott invited him to speak at in 2013. But Trott says there was no award, just a speech.
“I have made progress on the Michigan Man investigation,” Dale wrote on Twitter. “Former GOP congressman Dave Trott calls to say Trump claimed to him that he was given the award at a Lincoln Day dinner Trott invited him to speak at in 2013. But Trott says there was no award, just a speech.”
“Trott says that Trump thanked him for the alleged award at a 2017 roundtable with auto CEOs. Trott says he wasn’t about to correct Trump in front of CEOs while in Congress, but now he’s out of office and doesn’t care, so he can say Trump made it up,” Dale added.
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) August 16, 2019
Trott says that Trump thanked him for the alleged award at a 2017 roundtable with auto CEOs. Trott says he wasn’t about to correct Trump in front of CEOs while in Congress, but now he’s out of office and doesn’t care, so he can say Trump made it up.
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) August 16, 2019
Trott adds that the speech was well-received. He also adds that Trump insisted he had to tell the press that it was the largest Oakland County Lincoln Day Dinner crowd ever, even though Trott told him he had no idea if that was true. He says Trump claimed CBS said it was.
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) August 16, 2019
Trott also told MLive.com that the award was fake, and the site uncovered a picture of Trump being given a framed copy of the Gettysburg Address, not the Michigan Man of the Year award, which appears not to exist. At the time, the event’s organizer did say Trump drew the largest crowd ever for the dinner.
While that magical evening may have gained import in Trump’s mind over the years, but when Trump talked about his “acceptance speech” during an interview with Neil Cavuto just days after the event, he didn’t mention the award at all.
“You know, I made a speech in Michigan the other day, and they set their all-time record, it was a great, great event, it was an amazing event,” Trump said.
Cavuto then read a quote from Trump’s speech, and neither mentioned the “award.”
Watch the clip above, via Fox News.
