Trump Makes Visit to Crucial Swing State Wisconsin Following Milwaukee Allegations
Republican session set for Trump's Tuesday event is mere weeks away from Democrats convening in Milwaukee for the party's national convention, where they will endorse Trump for the presidency for the third time in eight years. At a gathering with House Republicans on Capitol Hill last week, Trump reportedly referred to Milwaukee, the chosen location for the convention, as "terrible," according to a source present.
The Trump campaign attempted to correct the public interpretation of Trump's statement, claiming he was discussing crime and fraud from elections. As the comment circulated among Badger State residents, Trump subsequently clarified the remark to a Fox News journalist: "I admire Milwaukee, I have friends there." He then criticized the city's crime situation and election management.
Milwaukee, alongside the state capital Madison, is the powerbase of the Democrats in Wisconsin and possesses the highest number of voters in the state. Approximately one-fifth of the votes cast for Joe Biden on his way to a narrow victory in Wisconsin during the 2020 election came from Milwaukee.
The city's Democratic mayor, Cavalier Johnson, told CNN's Laura Coates that Trump's comment could be a strategic blunder. "In a state that's decided by the narrowest margin, this may well lose Donald Trump the election," Johnson said.
Democrats have sought to capitalize on the situation to stimulate support for Biden across the state's largest city.
The Democratic National Committee revealed on Friday the establishment of 10 billboards in Milwaukee featuring Trump's purported remark, while the Biden campaign has started selling T-shirts and stickers displaying a Wisconsin outline with the text "Not a Terrible City."
"I genuinely appreciate Milwaukee," Biden posted on social media Thursday, sharing a picture with the Milwaukee Bucks after their NBA championship victory in 2021.
Focus on crime
Crime in major urban areas was a key aspect of Trump's successful 2016 presidential campaign, and Milwaukee served as a symbol for his "law and order" campaign against urban violence.
Upon his visit to a location nearby the city that year, Trump told a suburban audience, "The unrest, riots, and destruction that have occurred in Milwaukee undermine the right of all citizens to live in safety and tranquility."
Trump failed to win Milwaukee, but he outperformed Democrat Hillary Clinton in the suburban counties that have acquired influence over statewide races in Wisconsin. This achievement helped him become the first Republican presidential nominee to win Wisconsin since 1988.
Both Biden and Trump fiercely campaigned for the votes of Wisconsin residents during the 2020 election, culminating in Biden clinching the state by less than half a percentage point.
This year, Trump has renewed his emphasis on crime as a primary theme of his campaign. In suggesting his trip to Racine, the Trump team attributed elevated crime across Wisconsin to Biden's policies and maintained that Milwaukee was "experiencing the biggest increase in shootings in the nation."
However, a recent New York Times/Siena College survey in Wisconsin found that less than 1% of registered voters highlighted crime as a primary concern in their choice for president. Meanwhile, violent crime in 2021 is down, and the FBI announced earlier this month that murder rates are on the decline nationwide.
Trump's visit to Racine marks his second to southeast Wisconsin in less than two months, signaling the importance of the region in the upcoming struggle. Two of Biden's four trips to Wisconsin this year have also placed him in the same corner of the state.
One of those visits included an official White House visit to Racine about 20 minutes from where Trump will hold his rally on Tuesday. During that visit, Biden addressed a site where his predecessor had previously endorsed an investment by the Taiwan-based electronics company Foxconn that ultimately didn't pan out.
“Foxconn turned out to be nothing but a scam – as you might expect," Biden stated. “Just goes to show.”
