• The 2017 Donald Trump lavished praise on the multi-billion-dollar plan crafted by Michigan and Canada to build the much-needed connector for our two economies. The 2026 Donald Trump sees the bridge as nothing more than a bargaining chip.
  We’ll get into the details of the potential economic disaster with former U.S. Ambassador to Canada … and former Michigan Governor … Jim Blanchard.
• For Michigan Republicans, Bridgegate poses a new choice: Michigan workers, or Donald Trump. Most apparently are choosing Trump.
• In Washington D.C. (District of Chaos)Trump’s Justice Department-led war on his critics loses again. It’s said a prosecutor can get a ham sandwich indicted, but Pam Bondi couldn’t get a federal grand jury to indict Elissa Slotkin, Mark Kelly and 4 House Democrats for sedition. Slotkin and Kelly told reporters they refuse to be intimidated by the White House bully.
• Another federal court, this time in Michigan, has rejected efforts by Bondi to get confidential details of Michigan’s qualified voter list. The decision came from a Trump-appointed judge.
• 8 years after running on a pledge to “Fix the Damn Roads,” Gretchen Whitmer is celebrating bipartisan legislation that’s doing just that. Her new budget calls for an extra $2 billion in road and bridge funding, a continuation of the budget deal enacted last October. The executive budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 will fund both state and local roads as it executes the first full-year of funding for Michigan’s roads.
• Whitmer’s 88-billion dollar budget based on roughly $800 million in tax increases, $630 million in cuts and $400 million from the rainy day fund. It calls for increasing the state’s “sin” taxes to fill the gap left by Trump’s federal budget cuts to Medicaid and nutrition programs. House Speaker Matt Hall says any tax increase, even if it’s taxes on tobacco and gambling, is a non-starter. Senate appropriations chair Sarah Anthony counters: if that’s your position, show us what you’ll cut. WIll Michigan House Republicans dare to cut Medicaid benefits to ¼ of the state’s population in an election year?
• Trump’s economy is hitting Michigan auto workers. Ford reports that 2026 profit-sharing checks will be one-third less than 2025 checks. That drop impacts not just the UAW members, but also the businesses where those workers spend money.
• Two of three people accused in a case regarding fake nomination petition signatures for candidates in 2022, including gubernatorial candidates, were found guilty of numerous charges by a Macomb County Circuit Court jury after two days of deliberations.
  A third person, the wife of one of the other defendants, was acquitted of all the charges filed against her.
  The signature fraud likely contributed to the GOP nominating Tudor Dixon for Governor … who was swamped by Gretchen Whitmer in the election.
  Unfortunately, the scores of persons who actually forged the signatures remain at large and available to do it again.

We are joined this week by former U.S. Ambassador to Canada (and former Michigan Governor) Jim Blanchard who played a pivotal role in negotiating details of the Michigan-Canada agreement to build the Gordie Howe Bridge. After 8 years as Michigan’s Governor, Blanchard was named as the nation’s representative in Ottawa by President Clinton. He served in that role for two-and-a-half years. Governor Blanchard holds two degrees from Michigan State University, and a law degree from the University of Minnesota.

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• This week in Trump includes:
• Claims that the latest partial release of the Epstein files exonerates him … it doesn’t. His name appears 38,000 times, including allegations involving 13- and 14-year-old girls.
• A demand for a federal takeover of elections in democratic areas of swing states, including Detroit … accompanied by a declaration from Steve Bannon that ICE will be used to enforce Trump’s will
• Ordering the seizure of Georgia 2020 voting files from a county he lost, and assigning his Director of National Security to lead the new attack on the 2020 election.
• Filing a $10-billion lawsuit against the IRS (and effectively himself) for leaks of his tax returns during his first term, tax returns he often promised to release voluntarily. The ultimate decision on whether the IRS settles and pays up will be made by … Trump.
• Deciding to close the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for 2 years as artists continued to cancel performances.
• Announcing plans for a White House statue honoring Christopher Columbus, an explorer who ended up landing in the wrong continent.
• Making it known he wants Dulles Airport and New York City’s Penn Station renamed in his honor.
• Reposting an AI video that includes a shot depicting the Obamas as apes, something that even Trump-loving GOP Senator Tim Scott (the Senate’s only black Republican) called “the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House”
• Bailing from attending the Super Bowl, after aides reportedly warned him he’s get booed even more than he was at the Lions-Packers game.

Elsewhere in the District of Crazy:

• The Washington Post, long considered one of the nation’s most important newspapers, is being gutted by Jeff Bezos to save money. (Jeff’s net worth is around a quarter-of-a-trillion dollars, and he recently launched his $500-million yacht, and spent $75-million on the Melania disaster.) 30% of reporters are being fired. The paper’s masthead reads “Democracy Dies in Darkness.” Jeff Bezos just dimmed the light.
• Senator Elissa Slotkin has told the FBI and Department of Justice to take their requests for an interview and shove it. They want to talk about the video in which she reminds military personnel they should not and cannot obey illegal orders. She’s thinking about suing them.
• With Trump’s economy sagging, Ford car sales are down and GM is warning of slowing sales. So much for the promise of a manufacturing rebirth in the “hottest economy on the planet.”
• In Michigan politics, the stage is set for a special election on May 5th that will decide control of the state Senate. It’s a Marine Corps veteran slash firefighter for the Dems against a Republican lawyer.
• The field continues to clear for Lt. Governor Garland Gilchrist in the Democratic race for Secretary of State, with former state Senator Adam Hollier the latest to drop out of the race.
• Attorney General Nessel has rolled out a new “Immigration Action Reporting Form” urging residents to document ICE and Border Patrol activity while warning that some federal immigration operations are endangering people in Michigan.
• A Republican-aligned group says it has enough signatures to get a voter-suppression constitutional amendment on the state ballot. The proposal would require providing proof of citizenship to register to vote – something hundreds-of-thousands don’t have.

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