“Lifelong” Republican Mayor Taylor of Michigan Renounces Trump for Biden

Trump flipped Michigan in 2016, the first time the state has gone red since 1988.

Taylor established himself as a prominent local Tea Party figure.

However, according to Mediaite, Taylor voted for Obama twice:

A Michigan mayor and longtime Republican has decided to renounce President Donald Trump in favor of former Vice President Joe Biden.

The Chicago Tribune has released a profile on Michael Taylor, mayor of Sterling Heights, MI, which is situated in the middle of Macomb County, where many midwestern voters supported Trump in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama twice. Taylor has established himself as a prominent local Tea Party figure, who has always voted Republican, but he confirmed he will support Biden in the Michigan primary and the 2020 election.

“I think Joe Biden is the candidate who can unify all of the Democrats, and he’s the candidate who can appeal to moderates and Republicans like me who don’t want to see four more years of President Trump,” Taylor said.

Looking back on voting for Trump in 2016, Taylor called the election a “referendum” on Washington politicians and others who didn’t seem to care about the issues midwesterners are concerned about. Taylor said Biden could win over his blue-collar constituents if he explains how his policies would be more beneficial to them than Trump’s, but he also referred to the president as “deranged.”

Taylor's comments are also going viral because he specifically called President Trump "deranged."

Sterling Heights lies within Macomb County, Michigan.

Trump won Macomb County by 54 percent in 2016. Hillary only received 42 percent of the vote.

Taylor admits that he believed Trump was "deranged" when he voted for him, according to Newsweek:

"I remember thinking this Trump thing is insane, but when it was down to him and Hillary, I kind of said, 'Well, you are a Republican, and yeah he's nuts, but maybe he'll get better and you know he's going to lower taxes," Taylor said. "I slowly talked myself into it. 'He can't seriously be this deranged once he gets in there,' and he's even more deranged now than I thought then. So, I take the blame. I voted for him."

We don't know about you... but Michael Taylor certainly doesn't sound like a standard Republican!

Michael Taylor is known for the $300,000 "Golden Butthole," which has been the subject of criticism and satire.

Sterling Heights made the map, but maybe not for the best reason.

A golden 35 foot-tall circle was constructed in Sterling Heights under Michael Taylor.

However, the monument was quickly mocked as a "Golden Butthole" and criticism mounted over the $300,000 expense to tax payers.

The Detroit Metro Times has more on the Michael Taylor Golden Butthole controversy:

In an attempt to rebrand the city, a golden 35-foot-tall steel and aluminum circle was constructed in a median along M-59 near Lakeside Mall (between Art Van Furniture, Old Navy, and a Fuddruckers). The large "icon," which was completed Jan. 17, is meant to enhance Sterling Height, aka "The Golden Corridor," for residents, motorists, and "tourists" alike.

Thus, "The Golden Butthole of Macomb County" Facebook page was born.

The page quickly amassed close to 7,000 likes and became a meme-generating joke machine dumping butt-puns as regularly as a high-fiber diet (the butthole's hours are even listed as always open). Others have made references to Sonic the Hedgehog, The Lord of The Rings' Sméagol, and major Avengers asshole, Thanos. But the page's true intention was to get the attention of the city's representatives.

"Meet the newest waste of your taxpayer dollars. An over $300,000 expense for a giant gold ring on hall road," the page's first and pinned post reads.

Sterling Heights city council approved the sign package in 2017, which included two additional welcome signs and a smaller golden butthole. The cost? A mere $339,350 from the city's general fund, with some additional costs for electrical. Starting today, multicolor lights will be installed at the base of the statue because yes, the butthole will light up.

"We wanted to make a big splash, and we certainly have," Sterling Heights Mayor Michael Taylor told the Free Press. "I've seen the criticism and I certainly understand."

Michael Taylor joins the likes of Mitt Romney and Bill Kristol, Republicans who have renounced the president.

However, if Biden's botched Michigan auto factory visit is any indication, blue collar workers don't necessarily agree with Mayor Taylor!