‘Built Trump tough’: As president returns to campaign trail, there’s nothing that he can’t make about himself

'Large portions of the electorate, knowing what the stakes are, have been rebelling against Trump for three years,' Democratic pollster says

There is nothing Donald Trump cannot and will not make all about Donald Trump – especially when he is speaking in a key swing state.

It turns out, not even the slogan of an iconic American automobile manufacturer is safe when that state's oh-so-coveted 16 Electoral College votes are up for grabs.

There was little doubt on Thursday that the president was back in Michigan with his re-election bid very much at the front of his mind. He delivered a meandering speech that mostly focused on the state's Covid-19 pandemic response and that of his own administration. But, at times, it morphed into a dialed-down version of one of the campaign rallies he clearly can't wait to revive. Come Friday, he was making a major – though legally baseless and largely symbolic – play for religious voters in swing states.

Over three years into Mr Trump's term, it should come as no surprise that a president who sacks department inspectors general for essentially looking into matters that could hurt him or his allies politically would rip off the famous Ford Motor Company slogan while standing inside a Ford factory.

After all, an average of four major polls in the Great Lakes State compiled by RealClearPolitics gives former Vice President Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee, a 5.5 percentage point lead there. One of those surveys, conducted by Trump-friendly Fox News gives Mr Biden a 8-point lead. Another, by Monmouth University, puts the former VP ahead by 7 points.

"In our nation's war against the invisible enemy, the hard-working patriots here today answered the call to serve. You proved that the American worker is built Ford tough -- and you are built Ford tough," he told workers at the Ypsilanti plant.

Then came that same IG-firing shamelessness that will fuel his re-election bid, which is now back in gear after that whole annoying, to him, coronavirus mess.

"A great expression. You still use that expression I think, Bill, right?" he asked Ford Executive Chairman William Ford Jr. "That's a great expression. And let's see, can I use it for maybe myself? 'Built Trump tough.' I don't know. They may say ... 'That's no good. You can't do that.'"

Only he did.

In fact, this week has shown Mr Trump appears willing to say and do anything to keep just enough swing voters while also driving up the far-right and Republican vote turnout this fall -- his lone path to a second term.

The commander in chief bragged about fielding "two additional battleships" during a Memorial Day evening Friday at the White House honouring the country's fallen troops. The last American battleship was decommissioned on 31 March 1992 because of the "cost of operating these ships, the labour-intensive manning, and the more modern, more powerful cruisers and destroyers of today's Navy," according to a US Navy fact sheet.

'More prayer'

He again on Thursday called for churches to open because "I consider them essential." The next day, he panned state leaders for keeping "liquor stores and abortion centres" but nor worship houses. "It's not right," he said, declaring his move is aimed at "correcting this injustice."Notably, a large chunk of Mr Trump's political base is very religious.

He took 75 per cent of the white evangelical vote in 2016. Recent polling shows he remains about that popular with that voting bloc with Election Day just six months away. His conservative base has called for their governors to allow them to return to their places of worship.

Though the Friday morning event with veterans and advocates on motorcycles – a smaller version of the former annual "Rolling Thunder" Washington ride – was at the White House, Mr Trump even turned that into a campaign event.

Though he was standing at a lectern on the Truman Balcony, he might as well have been standing at one inside a civic centre or minor league hockey arena in a battleground state as he noted motorcyclists have been supporters of his and later implored them to "get out" and "work" for his re-election because "we cannot destroy this country,"

It appeared for weeks – months, even – that the swashbuckling Mr Trump was unafraid and sometimes willing to contract the coronavirus. He refused to wear a mask. (He still does.) He long eschewed social-distancing. He shook hands with White House visitors. And so on.

We found out earlier this week one secret behind staying "Trump tough" is taking an anti-malaria drug to guard against becoming infected with Covid-19 – even if your own public health agencies warn about side effects like an irregular heartbeat and psychosis. (Mr Trump has a form of heart disease, according to White House doctors.)

So why did the president allegedly begin taking the medication? Like his latest official coronavirus-themed event in a battleground state that quickly sounded more like a campaign rally, to appeal to his base. Protesters advocating, as he does, for states to reopen have boasted on camera about taking hydroxychloroquine.

Another reason: Keeping enough swing voters in enough swing states to win again come November.

Contracting the virus "would undermine his 'back-to-work' message in the most dramatic way possible and undercut his own personal image of invulnerability,"said Michael Steel, who was a top aide to former Republican Speaker John Boehner.

'True national independence'

The campaigner in chief is back, spreading a retooled version of his 2016 sales pitch that he – and he alone – can inject the US economy with a dose of "invulnerability."

What better place than Michigan, once a hub of American manufacturing to again promise a renaissance and jobs. So many jobs.

"Nothing can stop the strength and power and grit of the American worker, nothing. Just like generations of Michigan manufacturers before you, each of you has done your best for America in its time of need," Mr Trump said of the Ford factory's Covid-19 response.

And what better place than Michigan – which some political operatives call the backbone of Mr Trump's path to 270 Electoral College votes, the amount needed to win the presidency – to make one of his first bold promises of the 2020 campaign.

"True national independence requires economic independence. From day one, I've been fighting to bring back our jobs from China and many other countries," he said. "Today, I'm declaring a simple but vital national goal: The United States will be the world's premier pharmacy, drug store, and medical manufacturer. We are bringing our medicines back.

"And many other things too. We must produce critical equipment, supplies, pharmaceuticals, technologies for ourselves," Mr Trump added. "We cannot rely on foreign nations to take care of us, especially in times of difficulty."

As a new Fox News poll showed Mr Trump down 8 percentage points nationally to Mr Biden, the president and his team are mindful that almost every widely respected poll shows more Americans trust him to handle the economy.

His new "national goal" shows that while the coronavirus has taken the breath of nearly 95,000 Americans, it has breathed new life into the "America first" message that helped Mr Trump win Rust Belt states like Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and yes, Michigan, four years ago.

Even so, he faces an uphill fight against a known quantity in Mr Biden. Polls suggest he has ground to make up in each state, and other battlegrounds. His actions suggest he knows it -- like renewing his baseless claim on Thursday that he once won a "man of the year" award in Michigan that no one can find a record of.

"The United States is in revolt against Donald Trump. [Mr Biden] already holds a daunting lead over Trump in the battleground states that will decide the 2020 election," Democratic pollster Stanley Greenberg wrote recently, noting in elections since Mr Trump took office, women and suburban voters have fled the 2016 Trump coalition.

"Trump, one can safely assume, will do almost anything to get re-elected, and my fellow Democrats will do all they can to defeat him," Mr Greenberg wrote. "But they also need to take into account this basic fact: Large portions of the electorate, knowing what the stakes are, have been rebelling against Trump for three years and are eager to finish off his vision of America."