National Guard speech: Trump says the US has “never been so close to World War III”
Trump made these remarks before a crowd of National Guard officers.
POTTERVILLE — Joe Bristol Sr. and his family bought a restaurant in 1960. Over the years, he has seen a number of other restaurants and bars — eight by his count — close, but Thursday he is expecting one of the biggest days in his history.
Joe’s Gizzard City is expected to produce a lot of its specialty – fried chicken gizzards – as the small Eaton County town hosts former President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign at an event at Alro Steel’s Potterville plant.
“Thursday will be chaos,” he said. He expects a lot of traffic and hopes that some Trump watchers will come downtown to get something to eat.
Bristol said Potterville has had its ups and downs over the years, but has remained a small town.
“My mother always said Potterville doesn’t grow. Every time a baby is born, someone dies,” he said.
Bristol sat on a bench outside his Main Street restaurant on Monday, holding his phone and waiting for a call. He hopes to snag tickets to Thursday’s event, where Trump is scheduled to make remarks on manufacturing, inflation and the economy.
Bristol said if he gets the chance to meet Trump, he will ask him about lowering gasoline prices.
“Retirees, in particular, have a fixed income,” he says, and is concerned that even retirees who do not drive much will feel the impact of gasoline prices when paying for groceries and other items.
In Potterville, a town of less than 1.5 square miles, there were a handful of campaign signs reading “Trump” on Monday, and there were even fewer in Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign.
There were many more signs in the playgrounds of local schools than in those of the President.
In the Alro Steel parking lot, which was filled with about 100 cars and pickup trucks, not a single Trump bumper sticker was visible. One sticker showed someone urinating on “Whitmer,” apparently a reference to Michigan Democrat Gretchen Whitmer.
Melissa Stirrett, who has a Harris sign in her yard, said she was concerned about Thursday’s event because it could jeopardize her son’s high school football debut in his senior year.
The school district has not yet released its plans for Trump’s event on Thursday, which is scheduled to take place about a mile from the Potterville school campus, which includes the elementary, middle and high schools.
“It’s frustrating, we haven’t heard anything from the school district about what’s going to happen,” Stirrett said.
She said she moved to Potterville about nine years ago because of its small-town atmosphere and easy access to big-city amenities.
Stirrett said she was “absolutely disgusted” by the event plans, partly because of Trump’s policies but also because it could ultimately cost the city money in police protection.
“We are already having a hard time maintaining police presence,” she said.
Allen Selis, who has lived near downtown for decades and has a “Michigan for Trump” sign in his front yard, said he has always felt safe in Potterville.
He said he supported Trump because of his faith. Selis said he is a Jewish Christian and Trump’s location for the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem was crucial to him.
“I love Potterville,” he said. “I’ve lived in this community for 36 years, it’s safe and I feel there’s a high level of integrity here.”
“As for Donald Trump and Potterville, all I can say is that I just believe he affirms our values. He believes that people should work hard, act ethically and have opportunities, and he believes in the rule of law and the U.S. Constitution.”
Contact Mike Ellis at [email protected] or 517-267-0415
