As the Canadian government plans to celebrate the opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge on Friday — a ceremony that was planned to be a joint effort with the Americans but was later canceled — President Donald Trump reportedly plans to visit Michigan Monday to potentially support his endorsed candidates for the U.S. Senate and the gubernatorial election.
Trump’s potential visit to Oakland County was first reported by The Associated Press Tuesday, but an event has not been confirmed or notice sent to the media about a rally on Monday.
Trump has endorsed both Republican U.S. Rep. John James of Shelby Township, who is seeking the nomination in the Aug. 4 gubernatorial primary, and former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers of White Lake, who is the lone candidate on the GOP side of the U.S. Senate race.
Rogers will go on to face either Abdul El-Sayed or U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens of Birmingham following the results of next month’s primary contest. Recent public polling has shown Stevens with a narrow lead, though the race remains competitive.
James faces businessman Perry Johnson in August, who is running a self-funded bid to knock off James in the primary. He has not been endorsed by Trump. If the president does visit Monday and stumps for James, it will be the only Trump-sanctioned event in Michigan that week. Johnson is planning a tailgate event with some of his key surrogates on Monday, which he has labeled a Trump Tailgate, but the Trump team pushed back this week on social media, reiterating that the president has not endorsed Johnson’s campaign.
Meanwhile, Monday is the slated opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge on both sides of the span. Trump and the Canadians have been locked in a trade war over Trump-imposed tariffs that began after Trump returned to office for a second term. The bridge’s opening had been stalled multiple times as Trump and the Canadians worked out their differences.
Part of that conflict had to do with the financing agreement for the bridge, which would allow Canada to collect bridge tolls to recoup costs for building the new border crossing. The U.S. government declined to finance construction of the bridge, leading Canada to cover the upfront costs under a financing agreement.
A breakthrough finally occurred and a new deal on the bridge tolls appeared in recent months, and a joint-nation, pre-opening ceremony was planned for Friday at the Bridge.
But after Trump leveled new tariffs on Canada, the plan for a joint ceremony was scuttled.
A Canada-only opening ceremony is still planned for Friday.
A spokesperson for the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority told Michigan Advance the bridge will be open to traffic on Monday.
