The Oakland County GOP plans to host a MAGA Classic Car Cruise next week to replace the cancelled Woodward Dream Cruise.

The event is slated for 2-4 p.m. Aug. 15 and expected to run on Woodward Avenue from Square Lake Road to Eight Mile and back, according to a Facebook post from the Oakland County Republican Party.

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Classic and modern cars cruise down Woodward Avenue in Ferndale during the Woodward Dream Cruise. (Photo: David Guralnick, The Detroit News)

“Support our President and Back The Blue – decorate your cars to support the President and or the Police!” the notice read.

County Republican officials could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday night.

The event is scheduled the same day the 26th annual Woodward Dream Cruise would have taken place before organizers canceled it due to public health concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic.

Community events planned for the occasion also were shelved, as well as a related one, the inaugural Woodward Dream Show at the M1 Concourse in Pontiac. 

Meanwhile, Michigan added two deaths from coronavirus Wednesday and recorded 657 new cases. The state’s overall case tally reached 84,707 and the death count hit 6,221, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.

This week, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer issued an executive directive telling state departments, including the Michigan State Police, to make enforcing COVID-19 restrictions “a priority.”

Vaughn Derderian, chair of the Oakland County Democratic Party, said he was “really disappointed in Republican leaders” who planned the cruise. 

“Every single one of us has had to give up something as part of this process” to combat the virus, he told The Detroit News. “I get that a lot of are upset about the Dream Cruise not happening. Maybe this is a low-risk event, but there is still some risk to it.” 

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