After a campaign that has lasted almost two years and a political career which began over nine years ago, former President and now President-elect Donald Trump held his final presidential campaign rally Monday night less than two hours north of Notre Dame at the Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
The rally, which preceded his victory in the early hours of Wednesday morning, served as his closing argument in the 2024 election. The location of the final rally has become a tradition for Trump — he finished his 2016 and 2020 campaigns with similar rallies in the city. The rally was attended by members of Notre Dame’s College Republicans club.
During his speech, Trump echoed his traditional campaign talking points, deriding the Biden-Harris administration for their record on immigration and the economy, while also expressing a sense of optimism in his chances of victory on Tuesday.
“The ball’s in our hand, all we have to do is get out the vote tomorrow,” Trump said.
Trump touted high Republican numbers in early voting, claiming Republicans were leading “by hundreds of thousands of votes.” Despite his confidence in victory, Trump often repeated his claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him, and alleged Democrats of attempting to “cheat” in this election.
Trump’s stop in Grand Rapids was his fourth rally of the day, coming after consecutive rallies in Raleigh, North Carolina, Reading, Pennsylvania and Pittsburgh. Trump was originally scheduled to arrive on stage at 10:30 p.m., but did not appear until 12:12 a.m. Tuesday morning, walking on stage to Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the U.S.A.” His speech lasted until roughly 2:10 a.m.
Trump spent considerable time recounting the assassination attempt he survived in July, describing his survival as a “miracle” and crediting God for saving his life.
“I hope that God did put me here to really save this country,” Trump said.
Before Trump arrived on stage, a number of speakers delivered remarks, including Michigan Congressmen Tim Walberg, Bill Huizenga and John Moolenaar, and Michigan Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers.
Also speaking was Amer Ghalib, mayor of Hamtramck, Michigan, a town in the state with a significant Arab and Muslim population. Ghalib praised Trump for his foreign policy in the Middle East, arguing he would deliver peace to the region.
During his speech, after remarks from his children Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump and Tiffany Trump, as well as daughter-in-law Lara Trump, Trump invited Ghalib back on the stage to speak again. Throughout the night, Trump appealed to Arab-Americans, mocking Kamala Harris for not visiting Dearborn, Michigan, a predominantly Muslim town in Michigan.
Further tailoring his message to the Michigan audience, Trump hammered the Biden administration for their electric vehicle mandates, promising to end them upon his return to office. He also pledged to bring more manufacturing jobs back to the region, through the use of what he called his “favorite word” — tariffs.
Trump’s remarks frequently included personal attacks on his political opponents. At one point, while attacking former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Trump appeared to mouth a profanity, describing Pelosi as “an evil, sick, crazy…,” before trailing off and not finishing the sentence.
“It starts with a ‘b,’ but I won’t say it,” Trump said.
Oftentimes, Trump also strayed into ramblings on a wide range of subjects, such as the size of the bed in the Lincoln bedroom, his hair and Elon Musk’s rockets.
“I have this beautiful speech, I haven’t really even gotten to it yet,” he joked. “Don’t you like a president who doesn’t need to use a teleprompter?”
The arena of roughly 12,000 people was mostly full by the time Trump began his remarks; however, some attendees began to leave as Trump made his way through his almost two-hour-long remarks. The crowd was enthusiastic, often cheering and sometimes shouting in approval during Trump’s remarks.
At times, Trump struck a sentimental note, at one point expressing a sense of disbelief that election day had finally arrived. He noted the fact that this would be his last presidential campaign.
“This has been an incredible journey, and it’s very sad in a way because we’ve done all these [rallies] and this is the last one,” Trump said. “Your support means more than anything you can even understand.”
Closing his remarks, Trump urged the audience to go to the polls in the morning and repeated his now iconic campaign pledge to “make America great again.”
After finishing his speech, Trump returned to his residence in Florida, where he remained to vote and watch the election results Tuesday. As of 3:30 a.m. on Wednesday morning Trump had secured a historic electoral college victory, and was ahead with 52.5% of the vote to Harris’ 45.8% in the state of Michigan, according to the Associated Press.
