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On our political radar this week…

A summer snowflake sighting in Wisconsin: Donald Trump stalked out of an NBC interview when his lies about election fraud were challenged by NBC’s Kristen Welker. While Trump was attacking mainstream media as “crooked”, his allies at CBS were proving they fit that description by firing 60 Minutes anchor Scott Pelley for calling out management efforts to spin stories on behalf of Trump.

Just days after proclaiming “ I don’t think about Americans’ financial situations,” Trump gave Democrats another campaign commercial saying that “he loves the inflation” … which has hit a 3-year high. Adding to the out-of-touch aura from the White House, he’s reaching out to the average American as only an 80-year-old billionaire can do it: first by attending a basketball game where the cheapest tickets cost thousands, and then by offering a UFC 250 gold coin for $11,999.99. The Michigan sales tax on that trinket: $720. But it includes free shipping!

© Clay Jones – https://claytoonz.substack.com

Entertainment for Trump’s 80th birthday party – the UFC concussion contests on what used to be the White House south lawn – has cost taxpayers upwards of $60-million plus thousands of hours of staff time according to the National Park Service. Add to that the $2-million or so it costs taxpayers almost every week for Trump’s weekly golf trip to Florida and you’ve got enough money to gift 6,000 or so Americans with Trump 250 commemorative coins.

As Michigan State University looks once again for a new President, retiring U.S. Senator Gary Peters’ name moves to the top of the speculation. This comes as retired Senator Debbie Stabenow and Governor Gretchen Whitmer say they’re not interested in the job. All 3 are MSU alumni.

CMS Energy is adding to the politics of affordability, asking for still another massive rate increase. The utility wants to raise electric rates by $486-million. This rate hike request comes less than three months after the utility received approval for a $217 million increase. Attorney General Nessel and multiple legislators are pushing back – Nessel fighting the increase through the Public Service Commission, lawmakers proposing measures to limit the frequency of rate increase requests.

The battle for control of the closely divided Michigan Legislature is well underway. Democrats need to flip 4 seats to regain control of the state House; Republicans need to turn around 2 seats to win control of the state Senate. We’ll get into the details with Kyle Melinn, editor of the insider newsletter MIRS News.

Governor Whitmer headlined the ribbon cutting for an important bridge this week … just not THE bridge. While the Miller-Rotunda Bridge in Dearborn (important to the Ford Rouge Plant complex) is now open, the Trump administration continues to delay the opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge. The Trump roadblock for Michigan’s economy is supported by state House Speaker Matt Hall, who says Michigan needs to renegotiate toll sharing for the bridge – even though Canada paid the full cost of construction.

The New York Times is reporting that Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer is promoting Haley Stevens’ campaign for the U.S. Senate. This comes as Abdul El-Sayed surges in internal polls … all of this two weeks before the first primary election ballots go into the mail. Ballots begin going out to Michigan voters on June 25.

Every elective state and federal job will be filled in the November election. While the spotlight will be on the races for Governor and U.S. Senate, there’s a lot more at stake, including control of the state Legislature.

That’s where we started our conversation with visiting pundit and chronicler of Michigan politics, Kyle Melinn. Kyle is editor of the MIRS Report, the go-to source for Michigan political insiders, providing in-depth coverage of all of state government and politics. He’s been with MIRS for 25 years, dating back to the Engler administration. In addition to his daily reporting, he is also a political columnist for Lansing City Pulse.

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Introducing our new podcast! Greed, Grift$ and Grab$:

Introducing our new podcast!
Greed, Grift$ and Grab$: