NOVI (WWJ) — It may come as a surprise to hear about a special guest who’s set to speak at the Oakland County Republican Party’s Lincoln Day dinner, one week from today.
WWJ’s Ryan Wrecker reports the person who will introduce keynote speaker Dr. Ben Carson is former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick — a longtime Democrat with a controversial past to say the least.
But Vance Patrick, Chair of the Oakland County Republican Party, says the ex-mayor, a convicted felon, changed while he was in prison on racketeering and other charges.
“He had the revelation of seeing God and said: Listen, this is where I’m going to now, I’m cleaning up my life. I’m going in a different direction,” Patrick said. “And that’s why we’re so passionate about having him here today. He realizes that Donald Trump is the guy that’s here to fix the United States.”
Kilpatrick was convicted on conspiracy, extortion and other corruption-related charges in 2013. He served eight years in federal prison on a 28-year sentence before his sentence was commuted by then-President Donald Trump in January of 2021.