When former President Donald Trump’s campaign released a list of the 51 Michigan lawmakers who endorsed his candidacy last month, one name was a surprise.
Ed McBroom, who ranks eighth among 12 state senators who support Trump.
Three years ago, McBroom investigated numerous allegations of voter fraud and election theft by Trump and his allies. Its final report organized a total internal discharge they propagated the myth of a stolen election – and continue to do so today.
In an interview, McBroom said voting for Trump in Michigan’s GOP primary last month was “not a hard decision” and that while he thought other candidates were possible, they had “zero chance” and were “not going anywhere.” and I didn’t like a few.’
In addition, McBroom, who said he had no discussions with the Trump campaign before his endorsement, tried to explain why he and other Republicans who have been critical of Trump’s efforts to nullify the 2020 election in one way or another are now making a strong comeback. nominated.
“Nothing brings people together like winning,” McBroom said, adding, “And we want to win. And we support our ticket.”
McBroom, whose Senate district covers much of the Upper Peninsula, is hardly alone in this line of thinking. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.; Rep. Nancy Mays, RS.C.; and the governor of Georgia. Brian Kemp is among a group of Republicans who have spoken out against Trump for either his attempt to nullify the election or his role in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, drawing Trump’s enduring ire, who now support his bid for the White House.
A number of past Trump administration officials and heads of the Cabinet of Ministersincluding the latest former Vice President Mike Pencethey refused to support him.
McBroom said that comparing Trump’s record to that of President Joe Biden shows that only one of them “clearly aligns” with McBroom’s priorities on the economy and foreign policy and the overall stability of the United States.
“That didn’t mean I didn’t wait to see if there were other candidates out there — I did,” he said. “But there isn’t.”
However, McBroom does not shy away from the findings of the report he produced after an eight-month investigation. Report denied and confirmed allegations of abuse Biden won the state by more than 150,000 votes, concluding that there was no basis or evidence to support repeated claims that the election results did not reflect the will of the voters. The result in Michigan, at the time, had already been upheld in court decisions and investigations conducted by the Secretary of State.
McBroom said in a statement at the time, “As is often the case, the truth is not as attractive or immediately desirable as lies and falsehoods containing elements of truth,” adding that many claims of fraud or theft were “a misunderstanding or outright deception.” as a result.
In the report, McBroom faced a firestorm of backlash from voters and even Trump himself. McBroom said that while a “significant number of people” were convinced that Trump was deluded in 2020, that energy has waned.
“As I and others have been able to explain to people what we’ve found and what we haven’t found, and because those who keep promising that they have evidence have failed to actually deliver, I think the enthusiasm has died down in this situation,” he said. “And I think a lot of people who can never be sure look at it and say, ‘Well, the best move at this point is to just win this November and stop trying to live in the past.'”
Trump’s criticism after McBroom’s report was scathing; he offered McBroom what he wanted “hide the truth” about the Michigan results, mocking him Republican in name only and questioning wants to McBroom was “truly an otherwise unelectable Democrat in Northern Michigan.”
But McBroom said he “never took it personally.”
“I received criticism that day [Trump]I received praise from the president [Barack] Obama. My answer to anyone who asked about it was that none of them had read the report,” McBroom said of the response to its findings supporting Republican-backed changes to state voting laws. (McBroom said certain changes in state voting administration ahead of the 2020 election have led to mistrust of the results. )
“I would love to have that moment to sit down [with Trump] and actually have a conversation, discuss what I’ve found,” McBroom continued. “But I’ve never had that opportunity.”
Asked about McBroom’s endorsement, as well as support from recent GOP critics, Trump campaign spokeswoman Caroline Leavitt said in an email that the officials are part of a coalition forming to unseat Biden.
“Americans of all backgrounds, including Republicans, independents and disenchanted Democrats, are uniting around President Trump in the largest political movement in history so we can end Joe Biden’s chaos and make America strong, safe and successful again.”
Meanwhile, the state’s Democratic Party said McBroom’s endorsement is further evidence that Trump has completely captured the Michigan GOP.
“Senator Ed McBroom should be ashamed of himself,” said party chairwoman Lavora Barnes. “He, of all people, knows how dangerous Trump is and how dangerous he is to our democracy in Michigan. This is another example of how the Michigan GOP has largely embraced Trump and his MAGA extremism.
As for his message to voters in his home state this fall about the legitimacy of elections there, McBroom said that while the changes have made voting “less safe,” “there are still significant safeguards and processes in place if someone does something bad, it’s going to show right away.”
“But mostly, here in Michigan, elections are so localized with your local people,” he said. “This and that are two-sided. You have officials from all walks of life on both sides of the aisle. You have poll workers and everything. These are our friends and neighbors. It would be terrifying to believe that one of them is trying to steal the election. But beyond that, it is impossible to believe that they are part of a larger conspiracy in one way or another.
Unlike 2020, when Biden led Trump in nearly every poll in Michigan, Trump this time out ahead of Biden in the state’s most recent polls, including one. by Quinnipiac University this month. That surprised McBroom, who saw his state’s GOP annihilation during the most recent midterm elections and didn’t feel the suburban counties at the heart of Trump’s defeat — detailed in his report — have suddenly reversed course. .
But, McBroom said, early poll results may show Trump is stronger in Michigan cities than he was in 2016 or 2020. And it continues to wield solid power in the state’s rural communities, McBroom said.
“So it’s possible that he could still build a winning coalition, something that I highly doubted a year ago but now I’m starting to believe is possible after all,” he said.
Almost four years from the 2020 vote, Trump has not backed down from the idea that the election was stolen. On the road and on his Truth Social platform, Trump still regularly promotes the false notion that he was robbed. McBroom would like to see it continue.
“I don’t think it’s a big message. I don’t think it helps advance his real strengths,” McBroom said, referring to his economic agenda and promotion of “peace through strength,” among other things. “I don’t think he’s going to keep drumming.”