Former President Donald Trump heads to Minnesota on a day off from his hush money trial for a Republican fundraiser Friday night in a traditionally Democratic state that he claims he can pull off in November.
Trump will do that headlined the state GOP’s annual Lincoln Reagan dinnerto coincide with the party’s state convention, after attending his son Barron’s high school graduation in Florida.
Trump will use part of the court-granted graduation day to campaign in Minnesota, a state he believes he can win in November’s rematch with President Joe Biden.
“I think this is something that Trump wants to do. He believes this is a state he can win. We believe that is the case,” David Hann, the chairman of the Republican Party of Minnesota, said in an interview.
Trump returned to Minnesota several times in 2020, when Biden defeated him by more than seven points. In the run-up to those elections, Trump said he would never return to Minnesota if he lost there.
“What we did for Minnesota: I lose Minnesota, I’m never coming back,” Trump said. ‘I do not care. I’ll never come back.’
Trump winning Minnesota would end a half-century Dem state voting streak
Minnesota did not vote for a Republican presidential candidate since statehood went to Richard Nixon in 1972. But in 2016, Trump nearly pulled off a shock upset, losing to Hillary Clinton by less than 2 percentage points.
Democratic U.S. Sen. Tina Smith of Minnesota, a Biden ally, said the Trump campaign is “grasping at straws” if it thinks he can win the state.
“The Biden campaign is going to work hard for every vote,” Smith said in an interview. “We’ll be talking to voters across the state. But I think Minnesota voters will choose President Biden.”
Political experts believe the state’s ten electoral votes are still in play.
“I think Donald Trump can win in Minnesota. He came within two points in 2016. And honestly, he didn’t really put in much effort,” said Professor Larry Jacobs.
The dinner coincides with the graduation of son Barron Trump
Trump will attend the dinner on Friday after watching Barron Trump’s graduation ceremony from the private Oxbridge Academy in West Palm Beach, Florida. The former president has long complained that Judge Juan M. Merchan would not let him attend the graduation ceremony before Merchan agreed not to hold a court hearing Friday.
Hann is co-hosting Friday’s dinner along with Trump’s state campaign chairman. House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, representing a central district of Minnesota. Hann said Emmer was instrumental in bringing the former president to Minnesota.
The dinner coincides with the party’s state convention. Tickets started at $500, rising to $100,000 for a 10-person VIP table with three photo opportunities with Trump. Hann declined to say how much money he expects to raise, but he expects a packed house of about 1,400 people.
All of the money from the dinner tickets will go to the state party, Hann said, although he added that some of the money from photo opportunities may go to the Trump campaign.
Experts are divided on whether Minnesota will truly be competitive this time, given its history and the state’s strong Democratic Party. But Hann said there is “major dissatisfaction with President Biden” in the state, noting that almost 19% of Democratic voters in the Super Tuesday primaries marked their ballots as “not captured.” That was at least partly due to a protest voting movement Biden’s handling of the war between Israel and Hamas that has spread to several states.
Trump’s appearance at the 2024 Lincoln Reagan Dinner in St. Paul was a huge victory for the Republican party
Former President Donald Trump had a crowd of 1,400 dedicated supporters cheering and laughing at the 2024 Lincoln Reagan Dinner at the Saint Paul RiverCentre on Friday evening.
“I’m very happy to be back in the Twin Cities,” Trump said to loud applause.
The former president also insisted he would win back the White House, lambasted the current president and, despite a gag order, made comments about the judge in his ongoing “hush money” trial, calling him “conflicted and crooked.”
Trump continued his speech by falsely claiming that he had won Minnesota twice in the previous presidential election.
“I thought we won it in 2016, I know we won it in 2020, we got to be careful, we got to watch those votes, you know? We don’t need the votes, we got to watch those votes, that’s the big danger,” former President Trump explained. “Stop stealing, there’s a lot of different names we have for it, but they’re all pretty accurate.”
Trump focused on the Biden economy promising to improve inflation.
“His inflation catastrophe is essentially a colossal burden on American families, we’ll call it the Biden inflation tax,” Trump said.
President Trump, who blocked Rep. Tom Emmer’s bid to become Speaker of the House of Representatives, praised Rep. Emmer for his continued support of his 2024 campaign.
Tickets for the event ranged from $250 to $100,000. The Republican Party is calling this fundraiser such a huge success that they are out of debt for the first time in more than a decade.
