Biden, Trump win Michigan primaries, with caveats
13% of Democratic voters in this must-win state chose "uncommitted"
What happened?
President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump won their respective Michigan primaries on Tuesday. Trump beat Nikki Haley 68% to 27%. Biden won 81% of the Democratic vote, but 13% of Democratic voters chose "uncommitted" amid an Arab American–led protest against his support for Israel in Gaza.
Who said what?
"This fight for our freedoms, for working families and for democracy is going to take all of us coming together," Biden said. "I know that we will." The Trump vote was "far greater than anticipated," Trump said. When "we win Michigan" in November, "we win the whole thing." Michigan's results are a "flashing warning sign for Trump" and Republicans, Haley's campaign said. You may resent my "audacity to challenge Joe Biden," said Dean Phillips, who got 3%, but "at least you’ll appreciate how relatively strong I'm making him look among primary voters!"
The commentary
Biden "scored a decisive win," Politico said, but "not necessarily" big enough to "calm Democratic jitters." Biden's campaign "should probably be worried" by the "uncommitted" votes in must-win Michigan, Michelle Goldberg said at The New York Times. At least "Biden's challenges are widely understood," Matt Lewis said at The Daily Beast. "Trump's supporters seem convinced he's invincible. They shouldn't be" — if "Haley-style Republicans stay home" in November, Trump loses.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
What next?
Haley has pledged to stay in the race through Super Tuesday on March 5.
-
Breaking news: the rise of ‘smash hit’ rage roomsUnder the Radar Paying to vent your anger on furniture is all the rage but experts are sceptical
-
Did markets’ ‘Sell America’ trade force Trump to TACO on Greenland?Today’s Big Question Investors navigate a suddenly uncertain global economy
-
‘We know how to make our educational system world-class again’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
ICE memo OKs forcible entry without warrantSpeed Read The secret memo was signed last May
-
Halligan quits US attorney role amid court pressureSpeed Read Halligan’s position had already been considered vacant by at least one judge
-
Can anyone stop Donald Trump?Today's Big Question US president ‘no longer cares what anybody thinks’ so how to counter his global strongman stance?
-
How Iran protest death tolls have been politicisedIn the Spotlight Regime blames killing of ‘several thousand’ people on foreign actors and uses videos of bodies as ‘psychological warfare’ to scare protesters
-
Trump’s Greenland ambitions push NATO to the edgeTalking Points The military alliance is facing its worst-ever crisis
-
Venezuela: Does Trump have a plan?Feature Oil and democracy are both on the table
-
Trump ties Greenland threat to failed Nobel Peace bidSpeed Read ‘I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace,’ Trump said
-
The Board of Peace: Donald Trump’s ‘alternative to the UN’The Explainer Body set up to oversee reconstruction of Gaza could have broader mandate to mediate other conflicts and create a ‘US-dominated alternative to the UN’
