Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's office said Sunday that President Donald Trump is “totally misinformed” when he claims Michigan officials are preventing him from holding campaign rallies in the state.
In an interview with Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace, Trump insisted:
“I called Michigan. I want to have a big rally in Michigan. You know we’re not allowed to have a rally in Michigan?” (Watch interview below)
Whitmer spokeswoman Tiffany Brown says “nobody in the administration has heard from President Trump's team," according to Michigan Radio.
Trump is correct that technically the governor's order prohibits a mass political rally. The order prevents outdoor gatherings in lower Michigan of more than 100 people and 10 people inside, though the Black Lives Matter protests have often gone beyond those limits without interference.
Trump trails in Michigan polls by significant percentages.
He told Wallace that Democratic governors use the pandemic as an excuse to block rallies in their states. “If everything was gone 100%, they still wouldn’t allow it. They are not allowing me to do it,” he said.
The president switched the Republican National Convention in August to Florida after North Carolina expressed concerns about a mass gathering.