Michigan
Trump's Michigan trip will include stops at a Black church and a gathering of far-right activists
DETROIT – Donald Trump will use back-to-back stops Saturday to court Black voters and a conservative group that has been accused of attracting white supremacists as the Republican presidential candidate works to stitch together a coalition of historically divergent interests in battleground Michigan.
Trump is scheduled to host an afternoon roundtable at an African American church in downtown Detroit. Later he will appear at the “People’s Convention” of Turning Point Action, a group that the Anti-Defamation League says has been linked to a variety of extremists.
Roughly 24 hours before Trump planned to address the conference, well-known white supremacist Nick Fuentes entered Turning Point’s convention hall surrounded by a group of cheering supporters. He was quickly escorted out by security.
Fuentes created political problems for Trump after Fuentes attended a private lunch with the former president and the rapper formerly known as Kanye West at Trump’s Florida estate in 2022.
Trump’s weekend plans underscore the evolving political forces shaping the presidential election this fall as he tries to deny Democratic President Joe Biden a second term.
Few states are expected to matter more in November than Michigan, which Biden carried by less than 3 percentage points four years ago. And few voting groups matter more to Democrats than African Americans, who made up the backbone of Biden’s political base in 2020. But now, less than five months before Election Day, Black voters are expressing modest signs of disappointment with the 81-year-old Democrat.
Michael Whatley, the new chairman of the Republican National Committee, told Michigan Republicans at a dinner Friday that the state could not be more important.
“Everybody knows if we don’t win Michigan, we’re not going to have a Republican in the White House,” Whatley said. “Let me be more blunt: If we don’t win Michigan, we’re not going to have Donald Trump in the White House.”
“We are going to determine the fate of the world in this election in November,” he added.
Trump argues he can pull in more Black voters due to his economic and border security message, and that his felony indictments make him more relatable.
Democrats are offering a competing perspective.
“Donald Trump is so dangerous for Michigan and dangerous for America and dangerous for Black people,” Michigan Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II, who is African American, said Friday. He said it was “offensive” for Trump to come.
Among Black adults, Biden’s approval has dropped from 94% when he started his term in January 2021 to just 55%, according to an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll published in March.
About 8 in 10 Black voters have an unfavorable opinion of Trump, with roughly two-thirds saying they have a “very unfavorable” view of him, according to an AP-NORC poll conducted in June. About 2 in 10 Black voters have a very or somewhat favorable view of Trump.
Trump won 8% of the Black vote in 2020, according to AP VoteCast. And in what is expected to be a close election, even a modest shift could be consequential.
Maurice Morrison, a 67-year-old lifelong Detroit resident, plans to attend Trump’s church appearance. Morrison acknowledged that Trump, for whom he voted twice before and plans to again, is deeply unpopular in his community and even inside his home.
“Once he decided to run for president as a Republican, that automatically made him racist. That’s his middle name now — ‘Trump is racist’ — everybody I talk to, all the people I know, my family,” said Morrison, who is Black. “The man cares.”
Meanwhile, thousands of conservative activists, most of them young and white, were eagerly awaiting Trump’s keynote address Saturday night.
Turning Point has emerged as a force in GOP politics in the Trump era, particularly among his “Make America Great Again” movement, despite the ADL’s warning that the group “continues to attract racists.”
“Numerous individuals associated with the group have made bigoted statements about the Black community, the LGBTQ community and other groups,” the ADL, an international anti-hate group, wrote in a background memo. “While TPUSA (Turning Point USA) leaders say they reject white supremacist ideology, known white nationalists have attended their events.”
A Turning Point spokesperson did not respond to questions about the ADL’s characterization.
Turning Point, long popular among Trump’s MAGA fringe, is now a central player in mainstream Republican politics. The group’s weekend speaking program featured a long list of established Republican politicians, including U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, in addition U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., and former Trump counselor Steve Bannon, who is set to report to prison by July 1 to begin serving a four-month sentence for defying a U.S. House subpoena.
In his remarks Friday night, Vivek Ramaswamy, who has emerged as a fierce Trump ally since unsuccessfully challenging Trump for the GOP presidential nomination, called on conservatives to reject what he said was the Democrats’ embrace of diversity.
“I am sick and tired of celebrating our diversity,” Ramaswamy charged. “It means nothing unless there is something greater that unites us.”
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Associated Press writer Linley Sanders in Washington contributed to this report.
Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Butler wide receiver transfer Braydon Alford, the son of Michigan offensive run game coordinator and running backs coach Tony Alford, has committed to U-M under new head coach Kyle Whittingham, he announced on social media Friday evening.
The 5-foot-8, 175-pound Dublin, Ohio, native didn’t appear in any games in his two seasons at Butler and has three years of eligibility remaining.
From Alford’s bio while at Butler: “Set his school’s single-season receptions record with 90 catches during his senior year… Had 1,487 all-purpose yards that year and scored 10 touchdowns… Named First Team All-Conference, First Team All-District and Third-Team All-State as a senior… Team captain… Had an outstanding game against Hilliard Bradley in Week 5 which included 14 catches for 195 yards and three touchdowns.”
Alford entered the transfer portal earlier this week and quickly became a Michigan commit.
Whittingham took the Michigan job Dec. 26 and quickly built his staff. One of three holdovers on the group of assistant coaches was Tony Alford, who’s entering his third season in Ann Arbor. Whittingham had a previous connection with Tony Alford’s family.
“Tremendous football coach. I was blessed to have at Utah, his brother, Aaron Alford, before he passed away, worked for us for several years,” Whittingham said at his introductory press conference. “So I know the Alford family. Great family. Tony, I got a ton of respect for him and we’ll see how things work out in that direction.”
Alford was an unranked recruit out of Dublin (Ohio) Jerome.
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources opened applications through Feb. 1 for Michigan’s spring turkey season.
Officials say there are some changes to the 2026 season, such as the number of turkey management units, which are designated areas open to hunters.
“These regulation changes uphold the goals for the spring turkey hunting season: maximizing hunter opportunity while also maintaining satisfactory hunting experiences across the state,” said Adam Bump, DNR upland game bird specialist.
Here’s what to know about licenses for the upcoming turkey season. For more information on other regulations, visit the DNR’s website.
How much do the applications cost?
Turkey season applications cost $5 each and are available online on the DNR’s website, at any license agent or through the Michigan DNR Hunt Fish app.
A map of license agents is available online.
Who is eligible to apply?
Hunters aged 17 and older during the hunting period are eligible to apply for a license as long as they have a hunter education certificate or an apprentice license.
Anyone between the ages of 10 and 16 can purchase a turkey youth license. Anyone age 9 and under can participate through a mentored hunting program to receive a license. Youth turkey licenses are valid for all three management units and season dates.
Where and when can I hunt?
In 2026, the DNR announced that it had reduced the turkey management unit from 14 to three — Upper Peninsula, northern Lower Peninsula and southern Lower Peninsula. The units also determine the type of license hunters can obtain and when they can hunt.
View a map of the turkey management units below:
A Hunt 0110 license is for the Upper Peninsula, with an April 18-May 31 hunting season. Hunt 0134 license is valid for the northern Lower Peninsula and is available from April 18 to May 1. The Hunt 0302 license is available for the southern Lower Peninsula from April 18 to May 1. A Hunt 0303 license is also available for the Southern Lower Peninsula (May 2-31).
These licenses have a limited number available.
Other licenses include Hunt 0234, which is for statewide (April 25-May 31), and Hunt 0301, which is for private land (April 18-May 31). Hunt 0234 is valid on private and public lands in the Upper Peninsula and the northern Lower Peninsula, but private only in the southern Lower Peninsula, as well as Fort Custer military lands, with permission.
How can I get a license?
Hunters who apply for a license are entered into a random drawing system. The drawing results are available on March 2.
The Hunt 0234 license (statewide) and Hunt 0301 license (private land) do not require people to enter a drawing. These licenses can be purchased beginning at 10 a.m. on March 16. Hunters can check their drawing results online or on the Michigan DNR Hunt Fish app.
“These changes will give hunters longer seasons and bigger units to hunt in,” said Bump.
Anyone who is not selected in the drawing can purchase a leftover license beginning at 10 a.m. on March 9. Anyone who did not enter the drawing can purchase a leftover license on March 16.
How many licenses are available?
There is a 6,000-license quota for Hunt 0110 (Upper Peninsula), an 18,000-license quota for Hunt 0134 (northern Lower Peninsula), a 6,000-license quota for Hunt 0302 (southern Lower Peninsula April season) and an 8,000-license quota for Hunt 0303 (southern Lower Peninsula May season).
Hunt 0234 (statewide) and Hunt 0301 (private land) licenses are unlimited.
Michigan football moved quickly to help fill its running back room on Thursday, adding the No. 1-ranked rusher in the 2024 recruiting class to the roster.
Taylor Tatum, who spent the last two seasons at Oklahoma, signed with the Wolverines for the 2026 season, The Ann Arbor News/MLive confirmed.
Tatum, listed at 5-foot-10 and 212 pounds, has three seasons of college eligibility remaining.
He appeared in 12 games for the Sooners, most of it during his true-freshman season in 2024. That first season, Tatum rushed for 278 yards and three touchdowns, highlighted by a five-carry, 69-yard game in Oklahoma’s season opener against Temple.
Tatum was hampered by injuries in 2025, appearing in just one game against South Carolina, where he rushed once for negative-1 yard.
A former four-star recruit, Tatum was considered the nation’s No. 1 running back in 2024 out of Longview High School in Texas, where he set the school record for career rushing touchdowns (53). He picked Oklahoma over Ohio State, Alabama, Oregon, USC, among others.
Tatum was also a member of the Oklahoma baseball team, though he didn’t appear in a game in 2025.
The signing comes just a day after Michigan’s leading rusher in 2025, Jordan Marshall, announced his return to the Wolverines. Since the transfer portal opened last Friday, reserve running backs Bryson Kuzdzal and Jasper Parker have entered. Parker has since signed to play at Arkansas next season.
Meanwhile, Michigan awaits a decision from its other star back, Justice Haynes, who’s left the door open to a return to college. A pair of freshmen backs, Savion Hiter and Jonathan Brown, also joined the team this week.
Tony Alford, Michigan’s running backs coach, was one of three assistants retained by new head coach Kyle Whittingham.
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