President Donald Trump has falsely claimed the 2024 Michigan U.S. Senate race was “rigged,” attributing a Republican loss, once again, to tampering from Democrats after claiming for the past six years that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him.
Trump was touting the supposed influence of his endorsements during an interview with Punchbowl News released Friday, only for co-founder Jake Sherman to note former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) — whom Trump has endorsed in the 2026 Senate race — lost in 2024.
“I happen to think he won,” Trump told Sherman.
He added, “No, no, I think it was a rigged deal. I think they rigged him out of it. But he’s a very good candidate. I think he should do well if we believe in polls. I actually sort of believe in polls.”
Rogers lost his 2024 Senate race against then-Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) by around 30,000 votes and is now running against Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed, a progressive who last week beat Michigan establishment Democrat Rep. Haley Stevens in the primaries.
Trump has lobbied for Rogers by mocking El-Sayed, whose full name is Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed, who recently suggested that his political opponents, including Rogers, seem to be using his name as a racist dog whistle to attack his Muslim heritage.
“It’s ‘Abdul,’ but I call him — the actual name is ‘Abdullah,’ and then it’s much longer than that.” Trump told Sherman. “But if you believe in the polls, [Rogers] does better against Abdullah than he did against the young congresswoman [Stevens].”
Trump has long poked at the electoral process when given the opportunity. He has repeatedly floated running for a third and unconstitutional term in 2028 as his supposed “reward” for the “rigged” 2020 proceedings.
Left: Carlos Osorio/Associated Press; Right: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/Associated Press
Recent polls show even MAGA voters are unhappy with Trump and his movement: Non-college-educated voters who helped re-elect him in 2024 have since joined their college-educated counterparts in disapproving of his job performance. The latest poll from Fox News has his approval rating at 39%.
When asked why earlier this week, Trump deflected the blame to his party.
“I don’t know,” he said. “I mean, they’re angry at Republicans. But they’re not angry at me.”