Former President Donald Trump will travel to Minnesota on a day off from his hush money trial to attend a Republican fundraiser Friday night in a historically Democratic state that he claims he can win in November.
Trump will keynote the state GOP’s annual Lincoln Reagan dinner, which coincides with the party’s state convention, following his son Barron’s high school graduation in Florida.
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The trial judge has given Trump part of the day for graduation to campaign in Minnesota, a state he believes he can win in the November rematch with President Joe Biden. Since Richard Nixon in 1972, no Republican presidential candidate has won Minnesota, although Trump came close to doing so in 2016, finishing 1.5 percentage points behind Hillary Clinton.
Trump visited Minnesota multiple times in 2020, and Biden defeated him by more than 7 points.
“I believe this is something Trump wants to do. He believes that he can win the state. In an interview, David Hann, chairman of the Republican Party of Minnesota, stated that he too believes this is the case.
Democratic U.S. Senator Tina Smith of Minnesota, who supports Biden, expressed her belief that the Trump team is clinging to hope that he will win the state.
“The Biden campaign is going to work hard for every vote,” Smith said in an interview. “We plan to engage with voters throughout the state.” But I believe Minnesota voters will choose President Biden.
Trump will attend Friday’s dinner following Barron Trump’s graduation from the elite Oxbridge Academy in West Palm Beach, Florida. The former president had long claimed that Judge Juan M. Merchan would not allow him to attend graduation until he agreed not to hold court on Friday.
Hann will co-host Friday’s dinner with Trump’s state campaign chairman, House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, who represents a central Minnesota district. Hann stated that Emmer played an important role in bringing the former president to Minnesota.
The event corresponds with the party’s state convention. Tickets began at $500 and ranged up to $100,000 for a VIP table for ten that included three photo chances with Trump. Hann declined to reveal how much money he hopes to raise, but he anticipated a full house of approximately 1,400 people.
According to Hann, the state party will receive all of the proceeds from the dinner tickets; however, some proceeds from photoops may go to the Trump campaign.
Experts disagree on whether Minnesota will be competitive this time, given its history and the state’s strong Democratic Party ground game. However, Hann added there is “great dissatisfaction with President Biden” in the state, noting that over 19% of Democratic voters in its Super Tuesday primary marked their ballots as “uncommitted.” This was due, at least in part, to a protest vote movement in numerous states over Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas conflict.
In an interview with Minneapolis-St. Paul television station KSTP-TV on Wednesday, Trump stated that his speech would focus on economic matters. And he reiterated a false assertion he made in March to St. Cloud’s KNSI Radio that he believed he had won Minnesota in 2020, despite the fact that there is no proof of any substantial abnormalities in the state.
“We think we have a really good shot at Minnesota,” Trump told KSTP. “We have wonderful friends up there.” We have done a lot for the industry. In Minnesota, we have done a lot for everyone. We worked hard on Minnesota. Tom Emmer is quite involved.
