Trump Port Huron Rally Live: Speakers Warm Up Crowd Ahead of 3 p.m. ET Speech
The midterm rally program was under way inside McMorran Place Arena in Port Huron on Sunday afternoon, with Republican speakers on stage, Senate candidate Mike Rogers among them, and President Donald Trump expected to speak at 3 p.m. ET in the first visit by a sitting president to the city.
The Republican midterm rally in Port Huron, Michigan, was under way Sunday afternoon inside McMorran Place Arena, with the program opening at 1:52 p.m. ET with a prayer led by Secretary of State candidate Anthony G. Forlini and the Pledge of Allegiance led by Attorney General candidate Doug Lloyd, the Port Huron Times Herald reported in its live coverage. President Donald Trump was expected to speak at 3 p.m. ET, in what local officials have said is the first visit by a sitting president to Port Huron and St. Clair County; doors opened at 11:30 a.m. ET and the arena's theater was held as an overflow room.
About 1:30 p.m. ET, Trump posted on Truth Social ahead of the speech, writing that he was heading to Michigan to campaign against Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed and crediting himself for the auto industry's performance and for saving Selfridge Air Force Base, the Times Herald reported. El-Sayed, whose candidacy for Michigan's open Senate seat is at the center of the rally, has said he “absolutely” disavows the Muslim Brotherhood, the newspaper noted. Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers, whom Trump praised in a Fox News interview ahead of the rally, also took the stage during the program.
Earlier speakers included Michigan House Speaker Matt Hall and Rep. Lisa McClain, who told the crowd she was proud to be at the rally in her district, and 10th Congressional District candidate Mike Bouchard, who said, “If we win in November, we can win another 250 years of freedom.” Port Huron Police Chief Brian Kerrigan said there was a large but peaceful crowd; about 30 to 40 protesters gathered downtown before the rally, and police broke up a brief physical altercation between two people in the crowd, the Times Herald reported. The Washington Examiner reported that rapper Nicki Minaj was traveling to Port Huron with Trump on Sunday, a report the Times Herald noted in its live coverage; her appearance at the rally had not been confirmed on stage as of the latest update read this cycle.
The Port Huron stop is part of Trump's final-week midterm blitz, nine days before the November 3 elections, in a state whose open Senate seat — Rogers against El-Sayed — will help decide control of the chamber. Democrats need a net gain of four seats in both the Senate and the House to overturn Republicans' narrow 53-47 and 218-214 majorities, Reuters reported. Trump's speech itself, and any news it makes, will be covered in a follow-up file after he speaks.
