DALLAS —
In Mike Bouchard’s campaign for Congress in Michigan’s open 10th District, he released an ad featuring him jumping out of a plane, arguing that he is fit to lead Michiganders. The former Army paratrooper spoke with the Washington Reporter at the first-ever midterm Republican National Convention in Dallas about the type of servant leadership he hopes to bring to Washington, D.C.
Bouchard come to Texas, he said, because it was “an awesome opportunity to be able to be with senior leaders, the president, and leaders in Congress, and for me to be a part of that discussion, because if you don’t come here, you don’t have a say in that discussion. I’m here so I can bring things back to my district. I believe if you want to be a leader, step up and move, so I’m going to sit here today and have some of those discussions.”
For Bouchard, his time leading troops overseas gives him the type of leadership experience he thinks Congress needs. And for him, the personal, searing experience of 9/11 showed him America at its most generous. “The first time I had a soldier who told me their birthday, it was a soldier who was getting ready to go fight our enemies abroad, and they were born after 9/11,” he noted. “That soldier was not born during 9/11, but was still fighting against terrorism because of it. There are people around this world who don’t like our way of life, and we need to keep stepping up, and making sure that it doesn’t come to our homeland. I love this country. People need to understand what happened that day, because it affects us to this very day.”
“This time last year, I was in Iraq, and I remember I was watching Charlie Kirk’s assassination live,” he added; that experience informed his views about the need to tackle political extremism in America. “I was in a shipping container in the middle of Iraq, watching a political assassination back in America, and it shocked me that we were seeing this tragedy unfold while I was deployed in a combat zone. It struck me that America is heading in the wrong direction when it comes to political violence. I don’t care what your party is — Republican, Democrat, centrist — that’s great, but we can never, never let people say that political violence is okay. We need to stop that now. It’s on all of us.”
“It’s on everybody to say that political violence has no place in America,” Bouchard added. “We can have disagreements, but we can never attack each other physically. Speaking of 9/11, which is tomorrow, it’s the 25th anniversary of one of the worst days in the American history. Thousands of lives lost. We’ve been at war for decades because of that, and as a result of the terrorist tragedy that happened on that day, I remember I was in first grade, and my mom got a call from my dad, and he said that we should come up to his office. He was the county sheriff, and that we should go up there. They were loading up box trucks to take batteries, water, and non-perishable foods off to Ground Zero. This is on 9/11, the same day.”
“So I go out there with the loading trucks, and there was a line a mile and a half long of regular people dropping off non-perishable foods, water, batteries,” he continued. “There was one guy on a motorcycle who had as much water as he could carry, and he would ride up, drop it off, and say ‘I’ll be back.’ He’d go to a gas and he’d be back an hour later with another load of water. That was a day when all Americans came together. Right now we’re seeing a lot of hatred and divisiveness across this country. We need to unite as Americans. We have political differences. That’s okay. We can have political differences. We can talk those things out. But we need to find a way.”
Bouchard is running to succeed Rep. John James (R., Mich.) in one of the most evenly-divided districts in America. But, he said, that doesn’t manifest into a divide about whether voters love America.
“In my district, people love this country,” he said. “These are proud Americans, both Democrats and Republicans, they are proud Americans. I was at a Memorial Day parade in Sterling Heights, and it was three miles long.” But, statewide, Michigan Democrats, like Abdul El-Sayed, are running campaigns that are diametrically opposed to that of Bouchard. “Hasan Piker said that Americans deserve 9/11. That’s disgusting. Democrats should call it out. Everyone keeps saying they want a big tent party. I don’t think you should ever be under a tent with people who said that America deserves things like that. We need to call it out and we need to stop it. If you’re going to run for elected office, you need to be a leader.”
“At end of the day, people in my district want this divisiveness to stop,” he said. “We need to focus on the 80 percent of the issues that unite us. We need to be focused on bringing auto manufacturing back to my district. We need to make sure that we’re lowering costs across my district. They’ve just got a housing bill done that’s going to lower costs for Americans. Right now, the average age of first-time homebuyers is 40 years old. That means my friends and I can’t buy homes. We need to lower housing costs so all Americans can buy the home of their dreams.”
Bouchard noted that while the agenda of Trump and Republicans has helped Americans, it hasn’t reached Michigan as much as he’d like, due to the failures of the state’s Democratic leadership.
“We’re talking about reshoring jobs for the first time in decades, and when we reshore those jobs, when we start building back in America, Michigan needs to make sure that those jobs are coming to Michigan,” he said. “Michigan is no longer losing jobs in China; they’re coming back to America. But they’re going to Indiana and Ohio because Michigan’s economic policies are so unfriendly, they’re driving businesses out of the state. These jobs are being reshored. They’re coming back to America, but we need leaders to make sure they come back to Michigan.”
Bouchard was in first grade during the terrorist attacks of September 11, making him one of the youngest congressional candidates in either party. He believes that America is ready for a generational shift of leaders in both parties; that position is informed in part based on issues like artificial intelligence, which are exposing a yawning age gap in America’s politicians.
“I grew up using technology, so I know it firsthand,” he said. “I know a lot of different elected officials have their ideas on AI, but some of them have no idea what they’re talking about. They refer to it as a theory. Well, it’s not theoretical. We need people who understand technology. We need more young people in politics on both sides, but we need more young people who can relate to young people, but who can also build the future we want to live in. My job is to make sure that we make this environment great for all Americans, both for myself and the next generation.”
Below is a transcript of our interview with Mike Bouchard, lightly edited for clarity.
Washington Reporter:
Mike, you’re running for Congress in Michigan. What brings you here to the RNC in Dallas?
Mike Bouchard:
This is an awesome opportunity to be able to be with senior leaders, the president, and leaders in Congress, and for me to be a part of that discussion, because if you don’t come here, you don’t have a say in that discussion. I’m here so I can bring things back to my district. I believe if you want to be a leader, step up and move, so I’m going to sit here today and have some of those discussions.
Washington Reporter:
This week is the one-year anniversary of Charlie Kirk’s murder and the 25th anniversary of 9/11. Can you talk about what those two events have meant for you?
Mike Bouchard:
This time last year, I was in Iraq, and I remember I was watching Charlie Kirk’s assassination live. I was in a shipping container in the middle of Iraq, watching a political assassination back in America, and it shocked me that we were seeing this tragedy unfold while I was deployed in a combat zone. It struck me that America is heading in the wrong direction when it comes to political violence. I don’t care what your party is — Republican, Democrat, centrist — that’s great, but we can never, never let people say that political violence is okay. We need to stop that now. It’s on all of us. It’s on everybody to say that political violence has no place in America. We can have disagreements, but we can never attack each other physically. Speaking of 9/11, which is tomorrow, it’s the 25th anniversary of one of the worst days in the American history. Thousands of lives lost. We’ve been at war for decades because of that, and as a result of the terrorist tragedy that happened on that day, I remember I was in first grade, and my mom got a call from my dad, and he said that we should come up to his office. He was the county sheriff, and that we should go up there. They were loading up box trucks to take batteries, water, and non-perishable foods off to Ground Zero. This is on 9/11, the same day. So I go out there with the loading trucks, and there was a line a mile and a half long of regular people dropping off non-perishable foods, water, batteries. There was one guy on a motorcycle who had as much water as he could carry, and he would ride up, drop it off, and say ‘I’ll be back.’ He’d go to a gas and he’d be back an hour later with another load of water. That was a day when all Americans came together. Right now we’re seeing a lot of hatred and divisiveness across this country. We need to unite as Americans. We have political differences. That’s okay. We can have political differences. We can talk those things out. But we need to find a way.
Washington Reporter:
9/11 was one of your first experiences. You were in first grade. About 25 percent of Americans have no memory of that. You decided to serve your country. How do those things fit together for you?
Mike Bouchard:
It’s really interesting. The first time I had a soldier who told me their birthday, it was a soldier who was getting ready to go fight our enemies abroad, and they were born after 9/11. That soldier was not born during 9/11, but was still fighting against terrorism because of it. There are people around this world who don’t like our way of life, and we need to keep stepping up, and making sure that it doesn’t come to our homeland. I love this country. People need to understand what happened that day, because it affects us to this very day.
Washington Reporter:
I want to shift to Michigan broadly, and then to your race in particular. The Democrat running for Senate, Abdul El-Sayed has famously campaigned with Hasan Piker, who said that America deserved 9/11. How does that register in Michigan’s 10th District, and across the state?
Mike Bouchard:
In my district, people love this country. These are proud Americans, both Democrats and Republicans, they are proud Americans. I was at a Memorial Day parade in Sterling Heights, and it was three miles long. Hasan Piker said that Americans deserve 9/11. That’s disgusting. Democrats should call it out. Everyone keeps saying they want a big tent party. I don’t think you should ever be under a tent with people who said that America deserves things like that. We need to call it out and we need to stop it. If you’re going to run for elected office, you need to be a leader. At end of the day, people in my district want this divisiveness to stop. We need to focus on the 80 percent of the issues that unite us. We need to be focused on bringing auto manufacturing back to my district. We need to make sure that we’re lowering costs across my district. They’ve just got a housing bill done that’s going to lower costs for Americans. Right now, the average age of first-time homebuyers is 40 years old. That means my friends and I can’t buy homes. We need to lower housing costs so all Americans can buy the home of their dreams.
Washington Reporter:
While we’re talking about Trump’s housing agenda, Michigan is a famous home of auto manufacturers, and of auto workers. GM is important in your district. Ford is a legacy company in Michigan. Both of those companies have announced that they’re bringing a lot of jobs back to America. How is that an example of the Trump agenda working for Michigan?
Mike Bouchard:
We’re talking about reshoring jobs for the first time in decades, and when we reshore those jobs, when we start building back in America, Michigan needs to make sure that those jobs are coming to Michigan. Michigan is no longer losing jobs in China; they’re coming back to America. But they’re going to Indiana and Ohio because Michigan’s economic policies are so unfriendly, they’re driving businesses out of the state. These jobs are being reshored. They’re coming back to America, but we need leaders to make sure they come back to Michigan.
Washington Reporter:
You’re one of the youngest candidates of either party, running for office in an open seat, in a toss-up seat. How does that impact your campaign as you think about issues that people who are a little bit more senior in age in elected office might not be able to grapple with as much, like AI? How do you think about that?
Mike Bouchard:
I grew up using technology, so I know it firsthand. I know a lot of different elected officials have their ideas on AI, but some of them have no idea what they’re talking about. They refer to it as a theory. Well, it’s not theoretical. We need people who understand technology. We need more young people in politics on both sides, but we need more young people who can relate to young people, but who can also build the future we want to live in. My job is to make sure that we make this environment great for all Americans, both for myself and the next generation.
Washington Reporter:
Mike, thanks for your time.
