LANSING, Mich. — Republican President Donald Trump might hold an event on Oct 25 in Marysville, near the U.S. border with Canada, as a fight over tariffs has become one of the defining issues of Michigan's 2026 campaign.

Trump's plans could still change, but for now, his team is taking steps to prepare for a potential visit to St. Clair County, according to two sources with knowledge of the internal discussions. The sources requested to speak on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the president's travel schedule.

During an interview with WJR radio (760 AM) on Oct. 9, U.S. Rep. Lisa McClain, R-Bruce Township, hinted at a stop in Michigan by the president on Oct. 25.

"I might possibly keep the 25th open," McClain said when asked whether Trump would return to Michigan before the Nov. 3 election. "Nothing is confirmed."

Marysville is in McClain's U.S. House district, which leans heavily Republican.

She won her 2024 reelection race by 37 percentage points. But her district isn't far from Detroit, Michigan's largest city, and the battleground 10th U.S. House District, where both parties are trying to claim an open seat.

A spokesman for the Republican National Committee didn't immediately provide a comment on the plans from Trump's team.

Oct. 25 would come a day after the statewide early in-person voting window opens in Michigan and a day after former President Barack Obama is scheduled to campaign in Detroit for Democratic candidate for governor Jocelyn Benson and Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Abdul-El-Sayed.

Trump last visited Michigan in July when he spoke at the General Motors Proving Ground facility in Oakland County.

During that speech, he said the country had the "greatest economy" during his first term before COVID-19 hit. Now, he said his second term is blowing that economy away.

"You're going to see the results very soon," Trump said.

Yet, frustration with the war in Iran, which Trump launched in February, and a focus on high gas and grocery prices have dominated much of the 2026 midterm election.

A recent statewide poll from The Detroit News and WDIV-TV (Channel 4) found that 61% of likely Michigan voters disapproved of the job Trump has been doing as president, nearly two years into his second term.

Meanwhile, Benson, Michigan's current secretary of state, has criticized Republican nominee for governor John James for supporting tariffs Trump's administration launched on goods from Canada. She has dubbed the duties as the "John James Tax."

GOP U.S. Senate candidate Mike Rogers released a campaign ad last week, calling on Trump to end the trade war against Canada.

A campaign stop in Marysville — about nine miles from Port Huron's Blue Water Bridge to Sarnia, Ontario — would likely put a new spotlight on the tariff debate.

"Donald Trump spiked costs and threw Michigan’s economy into chaos by starting a reckless trade war with Canada," said Curtis Hertel, chairman of the Michigan Democratic Party. "Now he’s parachuting into our state to try and bail out Mike Rogers and John James, two loyal enablers who have stood by his disastrous agenda at every turn."

On Oct. 5, Trump told reporters that he planned to return to Michigan in the next week and a half.

Trump's team had been planning a visit to Michigan to take place on Oct. 6, 7 or 8, but the trip was called off for unclear reasons, according to three sources with knowledge of the behind-the-scenes discussions. Trump's team was considering a stop in Traverse City at that time, the sources said.

Vice President JD Vance will speak in Monroe on Oct. 15.

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Staff Writers Melissa Nann Burke and Grant Schwab contributed.

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