During his “Keep America Great” rally on Thursday night, Donald Trump said some crazy stuff. This time, Trump claimed that he was named Michigan’s Man of the Year. The award, however, doesn’t appear to exist.
So yeah, Trump is probably lying…again.
The statement came about 30 minutes into Trump’s 90-minute speech at his re-election rally in Manchester, New Hampshire, as the president thanked Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel for her work.
McDaniel is the former Michigan GOP chair, who Trump credited in the speech with helping him win the state during the 2016 general election.
“I used to complain and you know I just –– I’d go to Michigan and I’d say, ‘They’re stealing your car business,'” Trump said. “I’d go for years. In fact, five or six years before I even thought about running, for whatever reason they named me man of the year in Michigan. I said, how come? I didn’t even understand it myself, but I was named man of the year. I wasn’t even political. That was years before I did this, but I was always complaining that our car business is being stolen.”
Trump continued by saying that Mexico has gained 32 percent of the U.S. auto industry adding that it “all left the state of Michigan.”
“We are bringing it back at a level that nobody has ever seen before — our car business,” Trump added.
While Trump has often touted the success his administration is having on bringing back manufacturing jobs to the United States, the claim of receiving Michigan’s Man Of The Year award is the seventh time he has made such a statement.
CNN’s resident fact-checker Daniel Dale says no such award exists.
! Trump repeats one of my favorite lies of his, saying that, years before his campaign, "They named me Man of the Year in Michigan. I said, 'How come?' I didn't even understand it myself."
There is no Man of the Year in Michigan. Lots of us have looked into it.
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) August 16, 2019 [1]
Dale attributes Trump’s comments to a speech made in 2013 at the Oakland County, Michigan GOP Lincoln Day Dinner. According to Dale, Former Michigan congressman Dave Trott said he invited Trump to speak at the dinner but there was no award given to him.
Trott also told Dale that he was present at the 2017 roundtable when Trump mentioned the award, but that he didn’t correct the president at the time since he was then a member of Congress.
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 [2]
Twitter had a field day:
Anyone who doesnt recognize Trump is delusional will have to explain this. Gives a speech 6 years ago. And that becomes – in his head – that he was given the "Michigan Man of the Year" award. Which does not exist. And years later, he even says he won this in a private phone call. https://t.co/wUWng3DJZU [3]
— Kurt Eichenwald (@kurteichenwald) August 16, 2019 [4]
Trump Last night said at his rally He was once named Michigan's "Man of the Year."
FACT: THIS IS A LIE. the Michigan Chamber of Commerce said it didn't give out an award like that And Trump has never been on Detroit News's annual "Michiganians of the Year" list
— PoliticsVideoChannel (@politvidchannel) August 16, 2019 [5]
Michigan does not have a "Man of the Year." Trump lies about literally everything. https://t.co/ex1VLAWH3V [6]
— Khashoggi’s Ghost (@UROCKlive1) August 16, 2019 [7]
In tonight’s speech @realdonaldtrump [8] said he was named Michigan’s Man of the Year before the 2016 election. Literally no such thing exists
— Jeff Pearlman (@jeffpearlman) August 16, 2019 [9]
WATCH:
President Trump was once named "Michigan Man of the Year?" (according to him.)
"Funny thing is, it never happened," says @andersoncooper [10]. "Not only is there zero proof that citizen Trump ever got that award, there's zero proof that award exists. It's not a thing." pic.twitter.com/G7YfLO36vr [11]
— CNN (@CNN) August 17, 2019 [12]