Betsy DeVos made last-second plea to Trump to save Michigan GOP primary from plunging into 'chaos': report
Fearing chaos at the polls in Michigan on Aug. 2 as warring factions of Republicans fought over who should be their nominee to appear on the November ballot opposing Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D), former education secretary Betsy DeVos put aside her differences with Donald Trump to plead for his help.
According to a report from the New York Times' Nick Corasaniti and Reid Epstein, DeVos handwrote a letter to the former president asking him to help her save their Republican Party's hopes of ousting Whitmer by backing her hand-picked candidate, far-right conservative Tudor Dixon.
As the report notes, DeVos broke with Donald Trump after the Jan. 6 insurrection writing a scathing letter of resignation saying, in part, "We should be highlighting and celebrating your Administration's many accomplishments on behalf of the American people," before adding, "Instead we are left to clean up the mess caused by violent protesters overrunning the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to undermine the people's business. That behavior was unconscionable for our country. There is no mistaking the impact your rhetoric had on the situation, and it is the inflection point for me."
As the Times is now reporting, that was then and this is now as "chaos" has engulfed the Michigan GOP.
On Wednesday of this week, the wealthy Michigan businesswoman wrote a more conciliatory letter to Trump asking for his help and endorsement.
“I hear that some have implied that my family and I are working against you in Michigan,” she reportedly wrote. "That is fake news. Those telling you that are doing so for their own personal gain.”
Asking for Trump to endorse Dixon, which he did on Friday night, she described Dixon as, "the only one who can stand toe to toe with ‘that woman from Michigan’" -- a conservative epithet for Whitmer.
According to the Times' report, "For much of the spring and summer, Ms. DeVos and her billionaire relatives — the most influential Republican family in Michigan — have been at war with Mr. Trump’s followers in the state, choosing different sides in consequential primaries for the state Legislature and endorsements at the state party’s convention."
The Times' report continued, "The former president’s late nod in the governor’s race only compounded the confusion and heightened the suspense about what his followers would do on Primary Day. Just the day before the endorsement, eight of his chosen down-ballot candidates sent him an open letter urging him not to do political business with the DeVos family," before adding, "That Ms. DeVos felt compelled to appeal to Mr. Trump as if Jan. 6 had never happened was a measure of how bad things had gotten."
Former GOP lawmaker, and ally of the DeVos family, Jase Bolger, pinned blame for the case on Trump's supporters, saying they have tried to "drive a wedge between Republicans,” before warning, “They have to be careful because otherwise they could be helping Democrats.”
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