Trump refutes claims of labeling Milwaukee as ‘horrible city’ during Wisconsin rally
Former President Donald Trump has vocally denied accusations that he criticized Milwaukee, the host city of the upcoming Republican nominating convention, as a “horrible city” during a rally in Racine, Wisconsin. Trump asserted his affinity for Milwaukee, claiming responsibility for choosing the city for the convention, and addressed crime and election integrity concerns. This denial followed after a report by Punchbowl News, which claimed Trump disparaged Milwaukee in a private meeting with House Republican lawmakers. Additionally, despite controversy over whether he would stay in Chicago during the convention, his campaign confirmed that Trump plans to stay in Milwaukee. The Democratic National Committee has capitalized on the alleged remarks by placing a critical billboard in Racine County, contrasting Trump’s attitude with Joe Biden’s support for Wisconsin’s economy. This incident unfolds as Trump aims to secure support in Wisconsin, a critical battleground state he won in 2016 but lost in 2020.
Former President Donald Trump repeatedly denied reports that he referred to Milwaukee, the host city of the Republican nominating convention, as a “horrible city” during a campaign stop in Wisconsin Tuesday afternoon.
“I love Milwaukee. I was the one that picked Milwaukee. I have to tell you,” Trump told the crowd at a rally in Racine, opening his remarks by addressing the controversy. “I was the one that picked it. These lying people that they say, ‘Oh, he doesn’t like Milwaukee.’ I love Milwaukee. I said you got to fix the crime — we all know that — you got to make sure the election’s honest, but I’m the one that picked Milwaukee.”
Just before the rally, the former president told TMJ4 News, “I didn’t say it; they’re liars.”
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“I said it to anybody that wants to listen — crime is way too high, as it is in many cities, and they have to watch the election because the election results in Milwaukee were terrible,” he continued, raising unsubstantiated allegations of voter fraud.
Punchbowl News ignited a firestorm on Thursday in reporting that Trump told House Republican lawmakers in a closed-door meeting in Washington, D.C., “Milwaukee, where we are having our convention, is a horrible city.”
Trump’s rally gave him a chance to clean up his alleged remarks, which Democrats wasted no time in seizing upon. However, the denial also came the same day the Trump campaign faced reports that the former president would stay at his Chicago hotel and commute to Milwaukee during the RNC convention in July, another perceived slight for the host city.
Karoline Leavitt, national press secretary for the Trump campaign, later told ABC7 on Tuesday that “the president is planning to stay in Milwaukee for the convention.”
The Democratic National Committee sought to remind Wisconsinites of Trump’s comments when it paid for a billboard along Interstate 94 in Racine County.
“Want to know what’s really ‘horrible’? Donald Trump for Wisconsin’s Economy,” the billboard reads.
DNC spokeswoman Addy Toevs claimed in a statement that “Trump has made his contempt for Wisconsin well known.”
“Trump doesn’t know, or care, about working Wiscosinites’ experiences. There is just one candidate on the ballot fighting for good jobs for Wisconsin families: Joe Biden,” Toevs continued.
Wisconsin remains part of the “Blue Wall” states, along with Michigan and Pennsylvania, that Trump won in 2016, sending him to the White House. But he lost the state just four years later against President Joe Biden.
Trump’s trip to the state, his third since announcing his run for president, underscored its importance to his electoral chances. However, the former president is also betting that political dynamics nationally will help him win in the biggest battlegrounds.
He used his speech in Racine to lambaste Biden’s latest executive action on immigration as voters cite the border crisis as a top issue.
The Biden administration announced on Tuesday new legal protections and an easier path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants married to U.S. citizens who have lived in the country for more than a decade. The effort could shield roughly 500,000 people from deportation and comes on the 12th anniversary of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
“He’s going to formally grant a mass amnesty to millions of illegal aliens that came into our country,” Trump said as the crowd booed.
He later called the executive action “an illegal, unconstitutional amnesty, without approval from Congress, no approval from the courts or the American people.”
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Other Republicans also denounced Biden’s immigration actions, with his ex-senior adviser for policy, Stephen Miller, claiming it was an “impeachable offense.”
The RNC convention will take place July 15-18, mere days after Trump will be sentenced on July 11 as part of his hush money case in New York.
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