5 Quotes To Know From Trump's Michigan Rally

WASHINGTON, MI — President Donald Trump spoke for more than an hour to a crowd of supporters at a "Make America Great Again" rally on Saturday in Michigan, skipping out on the annual White House Correspondents Dinner, which he called a “fake news prom.”

The venue in Washington Township only allowed 4,000 inside and some 30,000-40,000 supporters waited outside, watching it on a jumbo screen as he moved from topic-to-topic, telling the crowd that he's working to bring back community colleges and vocational schools, build the U.S.-Mexico border wall to stop illegal immigration, and has cut taxes to grow the economy.

His mantra was as its been all along: "We’re going to be proud of America again," he said, drawing cheers from the crowd that was dotted with red MAGA hats and people waving American flags. "We're going to stand up for the American people. We are no longer going to apologize for Americans."

But he also touched on several other topics. In case you missed the speech, here’s five talking points you need to know from Trump’s Michigan rally:

On Michigan

The president unexpectedly promised to help take action on the Soo Locks after discussing the aging infrastructure with Republican congressional members during a drive from Selfridge Air National Guard Base where Air Force One landed, he said.

“The Soo Locks are going to hell. You know that, right? And we’re going to get them fixed up,” Trump said, to the cheering crowd.

On the military
Trump bragged on the state of the military, including a 100% success rate with the recent strikes in Syria. He said he’s gotten more than $700 billion approved for military spending.

“Our military was depleted and it was in trouble and now we are ordering brand new airplanes, brand new everything.”

He criticized democrats, saying they don’t “care” about the military and said not even the richest countries in the world have the kind of military the United States does.

On the auto industry

Trump made it clear he wants the auto industry to thrive in the United States and criticized buying foreign cars and their parts.

“You people know about the car industry,” he said. “I’m bringing it back to the state of Michigan, I’m bringing it back. Chryslers is moving back to Michigan from Mexico, we have many many car companies coming back to Michigan. The plants are coming back, they are being expanded.”

On job security
Trump boasted that unemployment is at its lowest rates for many marginalized groups across the country, including African Americans and Hispanics. He said unemployment for women is at its lowest in 15 years.
“Wages for the first time are rising,” he said. “For the first time in many, many years.”

On his own work
Trump touted his own work in office since winning the 2016 General Election. He said he wasn’t bragging, just being honest.

“I’ve only been here for 15 months. We have a lot of things happen,” he told the crowd. “I say this as a fact, nobody in the first year of office has done what we’ve done,” he said, sharing the credit with his supporters. He cited regulations and tax cuts for work he was most proud of in his first year in office.

RELATED: Watch: President Trump Hosts MAGA Rally In Michigan

Photos by Jessica Strachan/Patch