Trump's 'deranged' Michigan visit 'a preview of worse to come': Ex-GOP operative

Former Republican strategist Steve Schmidt argued on Tuesday that President Donald Trump's visit and speech to Michigan voters were foreshadowing what comes next in the United States.

The co-founder of the anti-Trump group, The Lincoln Project, described how Trump's comments revealed the growing concern among Republicans over the midterms — and Schmidt suggested MAGA will lose in November. And after that, it would be the start of something new, especially as former President Joe Biden prepares to release his new book "Promise Me, America."

"This should be the beginning of the Democratic presidential campaign," Schmidt said.

He predicted it will be one year and two months in the making, with the New Hampshire primary on the horizon.

Schmidt noted that this timing will be significant, especially as Trump tries to make inroads among voters and tout his economy. He specifically noted Trump's remarks in the Great Lakes State on Monday.

"The American people learned something about Trump," Schmidt said. "He's their parent. At least in the sense that we owe more to Trump than we do our parents. The issue here isn't that he said it out loud; it's that this is a thought that crossed his brain and came out of his mouth."

"I've done more for you than your parents. Your parents are good. I'm not going to knock your parents. That I can tell you, and they would agree with me; wherever they may be, they would agree."

And the reason Trump visited Michigan was clear, Schmidt argued.

"He went there to tell a story, a fable, a lie, to the faces of the people who live the lie," Schmidt said. "He went there to say 'this economy is great.' Really, for who?"

Schmidt called out Trump, his sons and family for getting rich off his presidency in crypto schemes, defense technology and private prison businesses. He predicted that 99 days from now, things would look different.

"Democrats are going to take power," Schmidt said. "Not because they're popular but because they're the only party with a lifeboat on the sinking America that Trump is pulling down into the abyss. So the American people will get on board and give them a chance, while despising them. That is part of the peculiar rhythm of American politics these days."

He argued that one day, a new leader would emerge. And it's likely they are probably not in Washington, D.C., instead in the "statesmen and women waiting for their chance to shine in a rotten and wretched era."

"But know this," Schmidt said. "Things are getting worse. Trump is becoming more deranged. And what went on in Michigan is a preview of worse to come."