Trump alleges Michigan Senate race was “rigged”

In a recent interview with Punchbowl News co-founder Jake Sherman, former President Donald Trump asserted that the 2024 Michigan U.S. Senate contest was “rigged” against Republican former Rep. Mike Rogers. Trump said he “happen to think he won” and described the result as a “rigged deal.” The race was officially decided in favor of Democrat Elissa Slotkin, who received about 2.71 million votes to Rogers’ roughly 2.69 million, a margin of fewer than 20,000 votes. State officials certified the results, and a subsequent standard audit did not uncover evidence that the election had been stolen.

The IndependentHuffPost

Trump’s claim follows a long-standing pattern of questioning election integrity, dating back to his repeated assertions that the 2020 presidential election was stolen. While Trump won Michigan in the 2024 presidential contest by roughly 1.4 percentage points, Rogers lost his Senate bid by about 0.3 percentage points. Despite the audit’s findings, Trump framed the loss as evidence of “rigging,” suggesting that his endorsement could still sway future outcomes.

The Independent

During the same interview, Trump referred to the Democratic primary winner by a shortened version of his name, saying, “It’s ‘Abdul,’ but I call him ‘Abdullah.’” El-Sayed, whose full name is Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed, has accused Rogers and other opponents of using his name as a “racist dog whistle.” He told supporters that if Trump cannot pronounce his full name, he should keep it out of his mouth.

The IndependentHuffPost

• “But I happen to think he won.” — Donald Trump, privacy notice president

The Independent

• “But he’s a very good candidate,” — Donald Trump, privacy notice president

The Independent

• “It’s ‘Abdul,’ but I call him ‘Abdullah,'” — Donald Trump, privacy notice president

The Independent

• “It’s ‘Abdul,’ but I call him — the actual name is ‘Abdullah,’ and then it’s much longer than that.” — Donald Trump, privacy notice president

HuffPost