BATTLE CREEK, MI -- Michigan Democratic Party Chairwoman Lavora Barnes framed President Donald Trump’s campaign rally in Battle Creek as a “desperate” attempt to convince voters in swing counties to support his reelection campaign.

Trump summoned thousands of supporters to the quiet Southwest Michigan city Wednesday for a rally scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Hours before the event, Barnes and local Democrats discussed the importance of winning back areas like the surrounding Calhoun County, which gave Trump a double-digit margin of victory after twice supporting former Democratic President Barack Obama.

State Rep. Jon Hoadley, D-Kalamazoo, said voters were looking for change in 2016 and were therefore attracted to Trump’s promises of economic revitalization. Since Trump took office, the unemployment rate in Battle Creek dropped a full percentage point, but average weekly wages in Calhoun County decreased in 2019 by 2.1%.

Hoadley, who is also running for Republican U.S. Rep. Fred Upton’s seat, said voters will turn back to the Democratic Party because Trump failed to secure the economic success he promised voters.

“In 2016 President Trump promised to bring change for the working people of Michigan. Three years later, here we are standing out in the cold without little to show,” Hoadley said. “We need better healthcare, long term care, and affordable prescription drugs. They haven’t gotten it done. We need clean drinking water, to hold polluters accountable, and to tackle the climate crisis. They are pretending that enough is being done."

Trump supporters who lined up outside Kellogg Arena in sub 20-degree weather Wednesday said the president earned a second term. Jan Green, a 64-year-old Marshall woman, said she feels Trump is delivering on the agenda he promised several years ago on the campaign trail.

“I think he’s one of the best presidents we’ve ever had in my lifetime,” Green said.

The Trump campaign held several events in key locations across Michigan this week. Vice President Mike Pence traveled to a “Workers for Trump” event in Saginaw and is set to speak in Battle Creek, while Lara Trump, the president’s daughter-in-law, held a Tuesday evening event in Macomb County.

All three areas visited by the Trump campaign were in counties he won after voters previously supported Obama.

The visits come on the same day the U.S. House is expected to impeach Trump on a party-line vote for allegedly abusing his power and obstructing Congress.

Thousands of Michiganders demonstrated across the state to show their support for impeaching Trump at events rallied by MoveOn.org and local Democrats.

"There’s a lot of anger in this state because of what the president has done,” Barnes said. “Folks took the streets last night to show their anger, to shout ‘impeach him.’ I’m excited by each and every one of them turning out to vote in November (2020).”

Barnes said the Michigan Democratic Party remains tightly focused on the upcoming election.

“We’ve got our own Trump removal plan, it’s going to go into effect in November 2020. I think the base supporters of the president don’t seem to recognize the president has broken the law, that he’s obstructed justice. They arent going to move, but the people of Michigan will see through all of that.”

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