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NEWS

Thursday, June 29, 2017

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

At first gathering of Michigan Trump Republicans, 
supporters pass out “training cards” for reelection

Organizers stress 
duty to defend 

Trump amid rising 

unpopularity

By ANDREW HIYAMA

Summer Daily News Editor

More than 50 people showed up 

to Avery’s Tavern in Rochester Hills 
Monday night to attend a meet-
ing hosted by the Michigan Trump 
Republicans, intended to train sup-
porters of President Donald Trump 
on how to most effectively promote 
his agenda and win his reelection in 
2020. The Oakland County stop was 
the first of several the organization 
has planned this summer through-
out the lower peninsula.

At the meeting, as well as on the 

organization’s website, organizers 
emphasized the amount of opposi-
tion Trump faces, saying it was their 
duty to defend him.

“Learn how you can get involved 

to help fight back against the fake 
news and the establishment that 
wants to bring down our great Presi-

dent,” the website reads. “At our 
meetings you will hear the most cur-
rent talking points directly from the 
White House that will embolden you 
to speak up and defend President 
Trump!”

The event was run by Meshawn 

Maddock and Diane Schindlbeck, 
who both served as delegates to 
the Republican National Conven-
tion last year. Both have been vocal 
supporters and organizers for the 
Trump campaign and administra-
tion in Michigan. Schindlbeck said 
one of their main challenges as orga-
nizers was figuring out what mes-
sage to promote.

“After November came, people 

still looked to Meshawn and I, as 
leaders throughout our own com-
munity and throughout the state, 
wanting to know, ‘What do you 
think Trump’s doing today? Was 
that a good choice? Was that a bad 
choice?’ “ she said. “So Meshawn 
and I would sit back and we’d say, 
‘Gosh, we believe this is what Trump 
is wanting us to say and what Trump 
is wanting us to do, but how do we 
truly get his real message out there?’ 
“

According 
to 
Schindlbeck, 

though, that task became easier 

when they were contacted by a 
“regional director” from the White 
House.

“This gentleman called us, and he 

said that he appreciates our efforts 
throughout the campaign, and he 
would like us to be a part of a team 
here in Michigan and to be the eyes 
and ears on the ground,” she said. 
“Every day we receive an update on 
what’s Trump’s agenda for the day 
and great things he has been doing 
with his administration. And it’s our 
job to get that out to you.”

Though Maddock said she hoped 

to bring the regional director to meet 
with Trump supporters in Michigan 
soon, she said she was not at liberty 
to disclose his name or any other 
information about him.

Glenn Clark, a District Chair for 

what was formerly Michigan’s 9th 
Congressional District and Repub-
lican precinct delegate from Troy, 
told the audience they had to be 
willing to engage in open forums in 
left-leaning media outlets to spread 
Trump’s message and asking them 
to become “Trump first responders.”

“What does the left always do 

without regard for anything else?” 
he said. “They always push their 
agenda. So I don’t care if it’s Mitch 

 
 
 
 
 BEN HSU/DAILY 

Laurita Thomas, assosiate vice president for human resources, speaks at the 
MStaff 200 Festival on the Diag on Tuesday. 

Albom in the afternoon. I just listened 
to him today — he said some cocka-
mamie things. Guess what — it’s good 
to be on his show, call in and say, ‘I’m 
sorry, Mitch. You’re wrong. Here’s 
why.’ “

Maddock didn’t express the same 

level of faith in the media, however. 
Dismissing criticism of Trump as fake 
news, she advised the audience to carry 
“Trump training cards” she had made, 
containing talking points on Trump’s 
agenda.

“Does anybody ever get frustrated 

— you’re standing in line at Walmart, 
and the guy behind you is complaining 
about something Trump just did?” she 
said. “And it’s all fake news. This is the 
way to combat fake news.”

Maddock’s husband Matt Maddock, 

who unsuccessfully ran for Michigan 
state senate in 2014 and is considering 
a run for state office in 2018, also spoke 
at the meeting, said Trump support-
ers would have to fight back attacks 
from within their own party to secure 
Trump’s reelection in 2020. Emphasiz-
ing the importance of electing Trump 
supporters as precinct delegates, he 
asked how many there were in the audi-
ence — about 20 hands shot up.

“There are unfortunately a lot of 

Republicans within our own party that 

are gonna be working behind the scenes 
to put up a challenger against President 
Trump in 2020,” he said. “Remember, 
we have an electoral college. The del-
egates are the people that are in charge 
of that whole process. And the more 
Trump Republicans we get as delegates, 
the better chance we’re gonna have 
to hold strong in 2020 to combat this 
attack that’s gonna be coming toward 
Trump.”

The last person to speak at the meet-

ing was Jarvis Williams, a volunteer 
with Secure Michigan, a political orga-
nization dedicated to opposing refugee 
resettlement in Michigan. Handing out 
cards that read “I’m a Shariaphobe,” 
Williams said the organization was 
opposed to Sharia law rather than Mus-
lim people.

“We are involved in the educational 

process here to help Trump ultimately 
reduce the amount of people coming 
into our country that we call Sharia,” he 
said. “If you fall back on the comments 
that are made in the press today, and 
you make any comment about Islam or 
Muslims, you’re an Islamophobe. Even 
a good Muslim has a hard time standing 
up for Sharia.”

After the words “good Muslim,” 

however, a member of the audience 
interjected, “There’s no such thing!”

He then explained universities 

are sometimes the conduit for 
conveying what might not otherwise 
be heard.

“However, universities are also 

charged with something else, in 
many parts of the world, with 
speaking unpalatable truths, even 
though society might not want to 
hear it,” he said. “This is where often 
conversations become extremely 
difficult. A university is by definition 
not a safe space. It can not be, 
because we value the freedom of 
speech of our academics to address a 
range of issues … and to not debate is 
the worst thing a university can do.”

Nicholas B. Dirks, Chancellor 

of the University of California, 
Berkeley, contextualized Berkeley’s 
history surrounding freedom of 
speech and noted the issue the 
university had with safe spaces. In 
April, at the University of California, 
Berkeley, 
political 
commentator 

Ann Coulter’s speech was canceled 
due to threats of violence against her 

— an incident that fostered heated 
debates regarding the right to free 
speech.

“Of course, Berkeley has always 

been at the epicenter of discussions 
regarding free speech, after all we 
invented free speech on American 
campuses for public universities in 
1964,” Dirks said. “There are some 
differences between then and now, 
but the similarities are quite stark, 
in that in my university, this has 
become a highly politicized issue. 
For the Ann Coulter (event) we got 
credible threats, both from the far 
left, as well as from the far right. 
So we clearly had a problem with 
promoting a safe space for her to 
speak, in the literal sense.”

In addition to discussing the 

role of universities in promoting 
freedom of speech, participants 
also explained their views on future 
affordability 
of 
education 
and 

financial aid for all students.

Speakers on this topic included 

Drew Gilpin Faust, President of 
Harvard University, and David 
Ibbetson, President of University of 
Cambridge, among others.

UNIVERSITY
From Page 1

and excitement and enthusiasm, 
and return to your jobs later today 
or tomorrow with understanding 
who makes blue ‘go,’ who makes 
an incredible difference with your 
ideas, your innovation, and the 
work that you do every day,” she 
said.

Kevin Hegarty, executive vice 

president 
and 
chief 
financial 

officer, spoke to faculty and staff 
and announced a new award to be 
launched in October.

“It’s important that we celebrate 

your effort, skills, innovation and 
excellence in a very visible and 
impactful way, which is why we 
felt it was important to bolster 
our 
University-wide 
employee 

recognition awards,” he said.

Hegarty said Thomas reached out 

to the Voices of the Staff, an employee 
engagement program at the University, 
to create a rewards and recognition 
task force with members from the 
campus and Michigan Medine. 

MSTAFF200
From Page 1

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Read more at MichiganDaily.com

