Trump’s Michigan 'Man of the Year' Claim Debunked by Newspaper Correction

[Social Media]

 

Donald Trump recently found himself in an awkward situation after repeating a claim that he had been awarded Michigan’s "Man of the Year." During a speech where he criticized Detroit, Trump proudly held up a printout of an article from *The Oakland Press* as proof of the accolade. He told the audience that his staff had successfully located evidence of the award from 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,” Trump said, holding up the article. He pointed to a specific part of the article, stating, “The county party gave Trump the Man of the Year award at the dinner, too.” 

 

However, fact-checkers quickly pointed out inconsistencies in Trump's claim. A report from *The Washington Post* revealed that the Oakland County Republican Party, which hosted the event Trump referred to, had never given out a "Man of the Year" award. Despite Trump's repeated assertions, made at least 20 times during his presidency, the award simply did not exist.

 

Adding to the embarrassment, the article Trump presented to back up his story was not from 19 years ago, as he had claimed, but from the previous year. Following Trump’s remarks, the article was swiftly updated with a correction. Under the heading “EDITOR’S NOTE,” the correction explained that a reference in the article regarding the 2013 award had been inaccurate.

The article Trump cited an hour ago to support his long-running lie about winning Michigan Man of the Year has already been corrected to remove a Republican official's lie that this happened in 2013. They are willing to rewrite history to match his lies: https://t.co/bbLbNWlJkG https://t.co/vuaZSbCKet pic.twitter.com/bPoynykalY

— Robert Mackey (@RobertMackey) October 10, 2024

 

The note clarified: “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.” The note further clarified that Trump had been honored at the 2023 dinner as "Man of the Decade," a separate distinction from the false claim about 2013.

 

The *Washington Post* added that a former Republican congressman involved in organizing the 2013 event confirmed Trump had not received any award that year. He also affirmed that no "Man of the Year" awards had ever been given out by the group. 

 

Trump’s statement not only caused confusion over the nature of his supposed award, but his broader speech also attracted criticism, especially his remarks about Detroit. During the same address, Trump warned that if Kamala Harris were to win the election, “the whole country will end up being like Detroit.” This remark provoked backlash from Detroit’s Mayor Mike Duggan and other prominent Michigan Democrats. Duggan, eager to counter Trump's grim portrayal of the city, tweeted a strong rebuttal: “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.”

 

Despite Trump’s persistent narrative of being honored, both the media and public officials were quick to set the record straight. With the correction now prominently displayed, Trump’s claims of a 2013 "Man of the Year" award appear to be yet another instance of exaggeration in his political storytelling.

 

Based on a report from The Daily Beast | X 2024-10-12

 

 

 

[Tug]

Aw come on it’s trump every third word out of his mouth is a lie he’s a charlatan what do you expect?remember how he was groveling for a Nobel awhile back?bet he starts claiming he got one 😂 

Edited October 13 by Tug