GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — donald trump Former NFL star Brett Favre heaped praise on former Packers quarterback Brett Favre on Wednesday at a rally in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The former Packers quarterback had been campaigning for the Republican presidential nomination in the final weeks before that. election day.
“Thank you, Brett. What an honor. What a great champion,” Trump said shortly after taking the stage at the Resch Center. “No wonder he can throw the ball,” he said, describing Favre’s fingers as “like sausages.”
The former president also joked about the loud ovation Favre received in a county that Trump narrowly won in 2020, saying, “I think he got a bigger ovation than me, so I was a little upset. I’m not satisfied.”
After the performance, Trump appeared on stage wearing an orange safety vest. riding a garbage truck to draw attention to offensive comments by President Joe Biden. But he reignited another controversy by reconsidering his promise to “protect the women of our country.”
President Trump complained that his staff called him “inappropriate,” insisting, “Whether the women like it or not, I’m going to do it.”
Mr. Trump rallied with Mr. Favre in key battleground states with six days left until the election. As a sign of national importance, President Trump’s Democratic opponent, vice president kamala harriswas simultaneously campaigning in Madison, a predominantly Democratic city about two and a half hours away.
Favre, who won three NFL Most Valuable Player Awards and one Super Bowl with Green Bay in the 1990s, praised Trump before the former president’s arrival, saying, “Just like the Packers organization, Donald “Mr. Trump and his organization were the winners,” he told the crowd.
“America won with his leadership,” Favre said.
By turning to Favre, President Trump is leveraging the state’s deep and loyal support for the Packers and the team’s former star quarterback. But Mr. Favre’s baggage has increased as he became embroiled in Mississippi’s welfare spending scandal.
Favre, 55, has not been charged criminally, but is one of more than 30 individuals and entities facing charges as the state tries to recover overspent money. Mr. Fabre has repaid just over $1 million in speaking fees funded by the Temporary Assistance Program for Needy Families. Mississippi State Comptroller Shad White (R) said Favre never showed up for the lecture. Mr. White also said I still owe Mr. Favre. Interest is approximately $730,000.
Mississippi has been ranked as one of the poorest states for decades; Part of federal welfare funds I went to visit my family. Instead, the Mississippi Department of Human Services allowed well-connected people to squander tens of millions in welfare payments from 2016 to 2019, according to White and state and federal prosecutors.
A nonprofit called the Mississippi Community Education Center made two welfare payments to the athlete’s company, Favre Enterprises: $500,000 in December 2017 and $600,000 in June 2018. TANF money is volleyball arena at the University of Southern Mississippi. Favre agreed to lead a fundraising effort for the facility at her alma mater, where her daughter began playing on the volleyball team in 2017.
Mississippi Community Education Center Director Nancy New pled guilty in April 2022 to the following charges: Misusing welfare allowancesas did his son Zachary New, who helped run the nonprofit. They are awaiting sentencing and have agreed to testify against others.
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Fabre appeared in September before a Republican-led Congressional committee that was investigating how states were failing to use welfare to help families in need. US House of Representatives Republicans He said the Mississippi welfare spending scandal involving Favre and others shows the need for “serious reform” of the TANF program.
Favre told a parliamentary committee: Diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease In January.
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Wagster Pettus reported from Jackson, Mississippi. Beaumont reported from Des Moines, Iowa.
