Michigan Republicans have been featuring extremist commentator Garrett Soldano as a speaker at numerous campaign events.
Soldano has stated that he opposes abortion for rape victims because “God put them in this moment.” He has also referred to abortion as a “get out of jail free card,” said that he opposes Plan B, called on his followers to form militias, and suggested that the “deep state” is going to stage “false flag” events in the coming months.
Soldano is a right-wing commentator who streams online and hosts a podcast. In 2022, he unsuccessfully ran for governor, losing during the primary. He gained notoriety in Michigan during the pandemic when he formed a group opposing COVID-19 safety measures.
Michigan Republicans have been featuring Soldano as a campaign speaker in recent months.
In May, Soldano emceed a Republican fundraiser that also featured state GOP chair Pete Hoekstra. In June, he spoke at an event featuring North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum for the Michigan GOP and Trump Force, which serves as the RNC- and Trump campaign-backed canvassing effort for Trump. In July, Soldano spoke at the opening of an office in Portage for Trump Force 47. In August, the Michigan GOP featured him in a Trump volunteer recruitment video. He also spoke at a Republican fundraising dinner.
And this past weekend, he spoke at a Trump Force 47 event with Republican U.S. Senate nominee Mike Rogers in Iron Mountain, Michigan. The two then spoke at a Republican event in Houghton. Rogers has also appeared on Soldano’s podcast.
Soldano additionally spoke at a Turning Point Action event in August and met Trump in June 2023 when the former president was in the state.
Soldano has a history of toxic rhetoric and views. Here is a summary.
Soldano said he opposes abortion for rape victims because “God put them in this moment.” During a guest appearance on a January 2022 podcast, as Heartland Signal reported at the time, Soldano criticized the idea of providing abortion for rape victims. He stated:
He declined to moderate his position after criticism. For instance, he said during a July 2022 interview with a right-wing organization that he is “unapologetically pro-life from conception,” explaining, “No, no nothing. You don't get a get out of jail free card. I don't care what happened.” He then discussed criticism of his remarks about rape victims and said: “I was crucified for that. What would a politician do? They would retract their statement. … What did I do? I doubled down.”
Soldano this year dismissed abortion as something that isn’t a “real issue” and claimed that the public cares more about other matters.
Soldano said he wants to ban Plan B. Heartland Signal also documented in 2022 that Soldano said “he’d ban Plan B in cases where ‘conception happens.’” He then added: “Now, if you can prove conception didn’t happen, you can use it.” The outlet noted the problem with Soldano’s statement:
Soldano called on his followers to form militias after predicting that armed attacks are “coming our way.” During an episode of his podcast in October 2023, Soldano aired video of alleged undocumented immigrants at the “Arizona/Mexico border” and then painted a violent picture of the future, stating:
He then called for people to form militias that would support law enforcement and the National Guard “when this shit hits the fan.” (He stated that he does not believe in “anti-government militias.”)
Soldano suggested the “deep state” would orchestrate a “false flag.” As the Guardian defined it, the concept of a false flag event “is the idea that powerful forces routinely arrange massacres or terrorist atrocities, and make it appear as if some other individual or group did them, in order to achieve their sinister political goals.”
Soldano said on social media on July 1, 2024: “Be ready for a false flag. The Deep State will not give up power so easily. They know that if Trump wins, it’s accountability time.”
Correction (9/5/24): This piece has been updated to make clear that Trump met Soldano in June 2023, not June of this year.