Trump keeps warning about election 'cheating.' His Michigan supporters are ready to move on

WARREN, Michigan - Four years ago, some of then-President Donald Trump 's supporters were so certain he won that they sued or breached the U.S. Capitol to stop the certification of the election.

Courts , audits and other reviews have disproved Trump's claims of a stolen election in 2020, when President Joe Biden won the presidency . But in the heat of another election yea r, Trump has primed his supporters to reject the results of a tight race. While campaigning as the 2024 Republican presidential nominee, Trump has repeatedly told them to turn out in droves and make the election "too big to rig."

He told supporters during a campaign visit in western Michigan on Friday, "They cheat, that's the only way we're going to lose." And later in the Detroit suburb of Warren, in a pre-recorded video played before he took the stage, Trump said, "Keep your eyes open, because these people want to cheat and they do cheat and frankly, it's the only thing they do well."

While Trump has yet to commit to accepting the outcome of the presidential election, several of his supporters who attended rallies in Michigan on Friday said they're ready to do so even if he loses.

Trump 'screwed himself' four years ago

Jordan Walton, 24, of Warren, is a restaurant worker and Trump supporter who was too young to vote in 2016. In his first opportunity to participate in a presidential election, Walton backed the former president's reelection bid in 2020. But unlike some Trump voters, he accepted Trump's loss as legitimate that year.

"It sucks. But yeah, he lost," Walton said before heading into the town hall event in Warren.

He said he expects a close election this time and would accept another Trump loss. "Ain't going to be happy, but you know, it is what it is," he said.

Walton plans to vote in person, but said Trump’s past railing against absentee voting hurt the Republican presidential candidate’s chances four years ago. "Well, I think he kind of screwed himself to be honest, because he wasn't promoting among his voters vote-by-mail," Walton said.

Trump has shifted on the issue with his campaign now encouraging his supporters to vote absentee or early in-person.

First-time voter 'wasn't a fan' of Jan. 6 riots, excited to cast ballot

Thomas Van Overloop, a 19-year-old currently studying at Cornerstone University in Grand Rapids, Mich., said he wanted to make sure his first vote in a presidential election is cast at the polls, likening it to a rite of passage.

While Trump disputed, and continues to dispute, his 2020 electoral loss in Michigan, Van Overloop said he doesn't plan on contending any election results, should Harris win the state.

"I wasn’t a big fan of (Jan. 6) and the stolen election thing," he said. "I think we've got to look to the future instead of looking back."

Van Overloop, part of the youth vote bloc both campaigns have courted, said many of his peers are similarly enthusiastic about voting this fall.

"Most people I know are pretty excited to vote for the first time, pretty excited to be involved in politics and the election."

Voter doesn't want to see 'crazy s***' like Jan. 6

Standing across from a table urging Trump voters to request an absentee ballot, David Ortez, 28, of Northville, said he plans to vote in-person on Election Day because he likes "the vibes." He said he likes going vote together with other people in his life, saying it feels like more of an "event" than absentee voting.

Ortez said he would accept another Trump loss and doesn't think the election was stolen four years ago. He said he's had conversations with other Trump supporters who disagree, but he said when that happens, he nods his head and tries to avoid an argument.

No matter who wins in what he expects will be a close presidential race, he said he hopes voters will accept the outcome and doesn’t want to see a repeat of Jan. 6. “No crazy s***. We don’t need that. We have too much nonsense in the world right now, and we don’t need more violence. That’s the last thing we need,” said Ortez, who works at a hospital.

Trump voter says she won't 'lose my mind' over loss

While some Trump voters say they’re certain Trump's 2020 loss was illegitimate, Lauren Marougy, 38, of Commerce Township, Mich., hasn't made up her mind on the matter. "I don't know, like I really don't know. I think he won," she said after a long pause. Marougy said it'd be sad if Trump really did win the 2020 election but didn't end up in the White House. "I wouldn’t really want to believe that," she said.

Marougy said she would accept a Trump loss in November. "I accepted it last time," she said. "I mean, what can I do? I'm not going to like lose my mind over it." She said she wouldn't protest his loss, "Because it wouldn’t get me anywhere."

'I love my country,' says Republican poll worker

Josie Kornev said she has to vote ahead of Election Day, as she's an election worker in Kent County in Michigan. Kornev, who ran for the Kent County Board of Commissioners earlier this year but lost in the Republican primary, said she will likely vote in early voting.

Although she was working at a poll in Grand Rapids in 2020, Kornev referenced absentee ballot counting on election night in Detroit that year, when Trump-aligned election challengers protested vote counting. Although claims about vote counting at the then-TCF Center being illegitimate ran rampant in the weeks after the 2020 election, those claims ended up being debunked.

Kornev said she doesn't plan on disputing the election results this year in the event of a Trump defeat.

"I'm not going to riot or anything," she said. "I love my country. I believe in voting and the freedom to vote. I would think people would be sorely regretful if they voted for Kamala Harris and policies that she wants to implement."

Trump voter likes absentee voting

Shawn Clapper, a 54-year-old contractor from Lincoln Park, Mich., said he voted absentee in 2020 and plans to do so again. "It's easier," he said.

Clapper said he doesn’t believe Trump lost in 2020. "I think it was stolen. Most definitely. 100%," he said.

He pointed to the 2020 election to explain why he doesn't really think a Trump loss this time would be fair and square, saying he generally distrusts elections. But don't expect him to protest the outcome if Trump loses. "I'll let everybody else do that," he said.

Trusting outcome if poll workers don't report suspicious activity

Ron Piskor, 75, of Warren is a retired engineer who plans to vote in person on Election Day. "I just trust it more so than any of the other systems that they got right now," he said.

He wouldn't say whether he would accept a Trump loss as legitimate. He's in a wait-and-see mode. It depends on what Trump – and other officials – have to say about how the election was run, Piskor said.

He said he suspects the 2020 election was stolen. But there's one thing that might make him believe that this upcoming election will be conducted fairly: "Just the fact that there’s no poll workers reporting any suspicious activity or anything like that."

Piskor didn't publicly demonstrate against Trump’s loss and 2020 and doesn't plan to do so again if his candidate is defeated. "It’s useless," he said.

Manufacturer doesn't love absentee voting, but will have no issue with results

Matt Swift, who works for a Grand Rapids-area manufacturer building steel structures, said he plans on going to the polls to cast his ballot Nov. 5.

"I don't trust the absentee, I don't know why," Swift said. "Maybe it's just in my head. I would rather be there with everybody knowing my vote counts."

Despite his stated distrust, Swift said he would have no issues with the outcome of the election should Trump not win. He said his support for the former president is largely based on his experience at work during the Trump presidency – he said his company had more projects available to bid on and the bidding margins were wider.

He's feeling confident about Trump's chances, though.

"I really do," Swift said. "I know it's going to be close. But I just feel like what I'm seeing, what I'm talking (about), what I'm hearing, I like the odds."

In 2020, Biden defeated Trump in Michigan by more than 154,000 votes, or close to three percentage points. In 2016, Trump beat Hillary Clinton by about 10,700 votes in Michigan. It was the closest margin of any state that year.

Contact Arpan Lobo: alobo@freepress.com . Contact Clara Hendrickson at chendrickson@freepress.com or 313-296-5743. Follow her on X, previously called Twitter, @clarajanehen .

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Trump keeps warning about election 'cheating.' His Michigan supporters are ready to move on