Whitmer fundraises off Trump’s attacks in Michigan

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) launched a fundraising campaign Wednesday, capitalizing on former President Trump’s attacks on her from earlier this week.

“Let me ask you, Donald Trump was just in Michigan. He spent his time here making personal attacks and lying to me,” Whitmer wrote. Fundraising pitch For Fight Like Hell PAC. “He attacks me again and again because he is afraid of what I have done and will do to stand up to him and his extremist allies.”

Speaking from Grand Rapids, Michigan, on Tuesday, President Trump called Whitmer a “terrible governor” during a debate about illegal immigration.

“Governor. Gretchen Whitmer, she’s so beautiful…we’ve had to deal with her during COVID,” President Trump said. and added later“But she’s not forcing Michigan families to accept $500 a month to accommodate illegal aliens into their homes… They don’t say this to veterans or to the streets. They don’t.” They don’t say this to other people, they say this to immigrants, probably because they want them to vote.”

He accused Presidents Biden and Whitmer of “stealing” people’s money to pay for housing for immigrants, calling it “so crazy.”

“She’s a terrible governor. By the way, your streets are bad, and everything is bad,” he said. “She’s used to coming to the White House and she’s very nice, and then she says, ‘I don’t like that person.'” I say, “Wait a minute?” I was very nice. Right? ”

in Post to X, Whitmer, formerly of Twitter, called Trump’s remarks “terrible” and asked her followers to donate to ensure Trump “never returns” to the White House. She claimed the former president is “afraid” of grassroots movements.

President Trump’s speech in Grand Rapids triggered a series of attacks on President Biden’s border policies and the situation at the U.S. southern border. In doing so, he revived the word “bloody” to describe a country overrun with immigrants.

“But this is a catastrophe at the border, it’s destroying our country, and very bad things are happening. It’s going to end the day I take office,” the former president said, adding He vowed to carry out the largest deportation operation.

President Trump referenced the killing of Ruby Garcia, who was allegedly murdered in Grand Rapids last month, during a discussion about the link between illegal immigration and crime. Police arrested Brandon Ortiz-Vito, 25, who told authorities he got into an argument with Garcia, shot him multiple times and left his body on the side of the road. Associated Press reported.

Ortiz-Vite, a Mexican national who entered the country illegally as a child, was protected under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, a spokesperson for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) told The Hill. Told.

His DACA status expired in 2019, and he was ordered to return to Mexico after being arrested on local charges in 2020, but at some point later re-entered the United States without being tested, a spokesperson said. added.

President Trump described Garcia, 25, as a “beautiful young woman.” [who] She was brutally murdered by a criminal illegal alien,” he said, pledging to bring her killer to justice.

He claimed to have met and spoken with Garcia’s family, but Garcia’s sister, Machi Garcia, said no one from Garcia’s campaign contacted the family. She said she was shocked to hear him make such claims and was outraged to see him “politicizing” her sister’s death.

He said this in an interview with CNN’s “The Source with Caitlan Collins” this week. whitmer said Trump was trying to “score political points” and “exploit the terrible tragedy that occurred here.”

“There’s a family that is grieving the death of Ruby Garcia. She was a real person, she had a real story, and a horrible story happened,” Whitmer said, adding that Trump “didn’t want to tell his own story.” “I intervened to ensure it continued,” he added. It’s terrible because they’ve done everything to keep us safe. ”

The Hill has reached out to the Trump campaign for comment.