Donald Trump faced an embarrassing takedown after claiming to have proof of the debunked claim that he was once given Michigan’s Man of the Year award.
In a speech in which he trashed Detroit, the former president brandished a print-out of a story from the Oakland Press, saying he’d asked his staff to find evidence that he’d been honored with the accolade 11 years earlier.
“It was like 19 years ago. It was a long time. But I was honored. And guess what? They found it. I was,” said Trump, unfolding the paper. “So here’s your article right here. It says, ‘Oakland County GOP to honor Donald Trump, former president, to speak at upcoming Lincoln Day fundraising dinner.’ And it says down here, ‘The county party gave Trump the Man of the Year award at the dinner, too.’”
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A fact-check by the Washington Post found that the county Republican Party had never given out Man of the Year awards, despite Trump claiming at least 20 times while in office that was the case.
As for the “proof,” maybe the GOP nominee’s campaign staff should take another look at the Oakland Press article Trump so proudly showed off to the Detroit Economic Club on Thursday.
It wasn’t from 19 years ago, but last year—and the article now includes a prominent correction at the top that was hastily added following Trump’s remarks in Detroit.
Under the heading “EDITOR’S NOTE,” it now reads: “A story published in May 2023 online and print editions of the Oakland Press reported that former President Donald Trump was honored with a Man of the Year award at the 2013 county GOP Lincoln Day dinner. A reference in the 2023 story, headlined ‘Oakland County GOP to honor Donald Trump,’ about the 2013 award was incorrect. Trump was the keynote speaker at the 2013 dinner in Novi, which drew a record crowd. He was not honored as Man of the Year. During the 2023 dinner, Trump was honored as the Man of the Decade which was reported in the 2023 story.
“We’re setting the record straight after the former president incorrectly cited the 2013 Man of the Year award during a recent speech to the Detroit Economic Club.”
The Washington Post fact-check reads: “A former Republican congressman who organized the dinner said Trump did not receive an award, and the group has never given out ‘Man of the Year’ awards.”
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan and other prominent Michigan Democrats hit out at Trump’s claim in his speech that “the whole country will end up being like Detroit” if Kamala Harris wins the election.
Duggan tweeted afterward: “Detroit just hosted the largest NFL Draft in history, the Tigers are back in the playoffs, the Lions are headed to the Super Bowl, crime is down and our population is growing.”
