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MaddowBlog-Why Trump's 'Bridgegate' controversy has managed to get even worse
Given the pattern, the appearance of pay-for-play is hard to ignore in an administration rife with corruption allegations.
Why is Trump blocking the opening of a lpng-awaited bridge linking Michigan and Ontario, which he previously supported?
— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2026-06-16T19:16:39.805Z
Maybe, just maybe, it has something to do with a million super PAC donation from a guy who owns a rival bridge.
www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...
https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/why-trumps-bridgegate-controversy-has-managed-to-get-even-worse
The Gordie Howe International Bridge, which links Michigan and Ontario, is supposed to be open. As The Globe and Mail, Canada’s largest newspaper, reported, it is not.
This controversy, dubbed Donald Trump’s “Bridgegate” by The Wall Street Journal, has been simmering for months, and it already looked pretty bad.
In Trump’s first term, he endorsed the project, and there was no reason to expect him to reverse course. In February, however, the Republican did reverse course, announcing plans to prevent the bridge from opening, at least for a while.
Initially, it wasn’t at all clear what prompted the president’s declaration — right up until we learned that Michigan billionaire Matthew Moroun had met privately with administration officials to lobby against the bridge. His motivation was obvious: Moroun owns a separate bridge that connects Michigan and Canada, and as former Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan explained in a piece for MS NOW, he wants to maintain a near-monopoly with his privately owned toll bridge.
Complicating matters, Moroun gave $1 million to MAGA Inc., the Trump-aligned super PAC. In short order, he secured a meeting with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and the same day as that meeting, Trump abandoned his previous position, announced his opposition to a project he’d already endorsed and said what Moroun wanted to hear.
Spokespeople for MAGA Inc. and the White House insisted the president’s position was unrelated to the super PAC contribution.
But given the recent pattern, it’s tough to ignore the pay-for-play appearances in an administration for which corruption allegations have become the norm.
So now it’s unclear when the completed bridge might open, but the Globe and Mail’s report added that Trump administration officials “are trying to negotiate a deal that would save the Moroun family from losing too much money once they have to compete with the publicly owned Gordie Howe bridge.”
Friday was supposed to be a big day for the Canadians and Americans who live on either side of the Detroit River.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony had been scheduled to mark the opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge — a $6.4-billion crossing that was first announced by former prime minister Stephen Harper in 2012. … The bridge opening was abruptly cancelled on Thursday at the demand of the Trump administration.
This controversy, dubbed Donald Trump’s “Bridgegate” by The Wall Street Journal, has been simmering for months, and it already looked pretty bad.
In Trump’s first term, he endorsed the project, and there was no reason to expect him to reverse course. In February, however, the Republican did reverse course, announcing plans to prevent the bridge from opening, at least for a while.
Initially, it wasn’t at all clear what prompted the president’s declaration — right up until we learned that Michigan billionaire Matthew Moroun had met privately with administration officials to lobby against the bridge. His motivation was obvious: Moroun owns a separate bridge that connects Michigan and Canada, and as former Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan explained in a piece for MS NOW, he wants to maintain a near-monopoly with his privately owned toll bridge.
Complicating matters, Moroun gave $1 million to MAGA Inc., the Trump-aligned super PAC. In short order, he secured a meeting with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and the same day as that meeting, Trump abandoned his previous position, announced his opposition to a project he’d already endorsed and said what Moroun wanted to hear.
Spokespeople for MAGA Inc. and the White House insisted the president’s position was unrelated to the super PAC contribution.
But given the recent pattern, it’s tough to ignore the pay-for-play appearances in an administration for which corruption allegations have become the norm.
So now it’s unclear when the completed bridge might open, but the Globe and Mail’s report added that Trump administration officials “are trying to negotiate a deal that would save the Moroun family from losing too much money once they have to compete with the publicly owned Gordie Howe bridge.”
The Moroun family bribed trump and wants the benefit of their bribe. trump is a corrupt asshole who only cares about himself and the people who have paid their required bribes
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