In a closed-door meeting with Republican congressmen on Capitol Hill on Thursday, former President Donald Trump reportedly used the word “horrible” when referring to Milwaukee, the Wisconsin city that will host the Republican National Convention next month.
“Milwaukee, where we have our convention, is a horrible city,” Trump said, as first reported by Punchbowl News.
The presence of the expected Republican candidate in the 2024 presidential election remains to be determined. Trump’s summer plans became complicated after he was convicted of 34 felonies last month by a New York City jury for falsifying documents to conceal a hush money payment to Stormy Danielsa porn star, before the 2016 election. Just four days before the RNC start date, July 15, Trump is scheduled to appear for his sentencing date in the Empire State.
While NBC News reported that Mar-a-Lago and Milwaukee convention sites are preparing for a convention that Trump may not attend, his team assured that the candidate will visit the Midwestern state in a few weeks .
“At no time did the congressional planning involve any option other than President Trump himself accepting his formal nomination for president,” the senior adviser said. Brian Hughes told NBC.
In the days after Trump met with Republican lawmakers, his campaign team and allies across the country came to the former president’s defense — some saying they had never heard the word ‘horrible’ pronounced and others saying the media took the comments out of context. .
” Fake. This is total bullshit,” Trump campaign spokesperson. Steven Cheung » said on X, formerly Twitter. “He never said it as it has been falsely characterized. He spoke of the horror of crime and electoral fraud.
President of the House Mike Johnson was eager to deny those remarks, telling Fox News Sean Hannity Thursday night, “No, I didn’t hear him and I was sitting right next to him. What Johnson seemed to ignore, however, was that Trump himself had come on Fox News to clarify what he meant by these statements.
“I love Milwaukee, I have great friends in Milwaukee, but as you know the crime numbers are terrible. We must be very careful. But I was also referring to the election, the ballots, the way they were conducted, it was very bad in Milwaukee. Very, very bad,” Trump said. Aïcha Hasnie.
Republican Congressman Bryan Steil of Wisconsin also changed its scenario.
“I was in the room. President Trump did not say that,” Steil said on social media. “There’s no better place than Wisconsin in July. When asked by a local WISN 12 News reporter if he would admit those words came out of Trump’s mouth, Stiel responded, “He wasn’t talking about the city.” He was talking about city-specific issues.
This is not the first time Trump has thrown shade at the state: he has spoken negatively about his position for years. During the 2016 election campaign, he said the state had declined under then-Gov. Scott Walker, a Republican. “I thought Wisconsin was doing well,” Trump said. Mother Jones. “And that’s not true!” It’s okay, it’s middle of the pack. Nothing spectacular. »
Democrats, both nationally and locally, seized the opportunity to use Trump’s comments ahead of the RNC.
Three hours after these remarks were reported, the president Joe Biden posted a photo on In 2020, Biden won the state by about 21,000 votes, or less than a percentage point.
The Democratic mayor of Milwaukee Trooper Johnson told reporters: “If Donald Trump wants to talk about things he finds horrible, we’ve all been through his presidency, so let’s get back to you, buddy. »
The Democratic National Committee is funding billboards in 10 locations in Milwaukee, Axios reported. Half of the billboards will display Trump’s comments in all caps, while the other half will feature the Punchbowl News founder’s X-rated message. Jake Sherman, who reported the news.
Although Milwaukee faces concerns about violent crime in the city, as of 2022, according to FBI and local police reports, per capita crime rates in Milwaukee were lower than the national average and violent crime were decreasing.
Trump and his team have used Wisconsin, whose status as a swing state makes it highly coveted, as a sort of epicenter for his Big Lie movement — which claims the 2020 election was stolen from Trump by Biden. Although federal and journalistic investigations have found no evidence of widespread voter fraud in Wisconsin, Trump continues to claim interference in the last presidential election (and allude to it in the next one).
Trump’s comments and backlash come as the RNC grapples with security, sponsorship and marketing issues.
On Thursday, Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin also published on social networks.
“Milwaukee makes the best beers, brats and motorcycles in the world. It is home to some of our most vibrant communities, our hardest workers, and is part of what makes Wisconsin the best state in the country,” she wrote. “Donald Trump wouldn’t understand even if a jury told him. »
