RACINE (AP) — Former President Donald Trump continuously praised Milwaukee Tuesday just weeks before it hosts the Republican National Convention, betting on the cleaning paper after using the word “horrible” when referring to Wisconsin’s largest city, the pivotal state.
“I love Milwaukee,” Trump told the crowd near Racine, Wisconsin. He reportedly spoke at a closed-door caucus with Republicans in the House of Representatives. Several of his allies in the assembly later reported that he was talking about crime and voter fraud.
Wisconsin is one of the few states most likely to enter this year’s presidential race. It is one of the “blue wall” Democratic states that Trump narrowly won in 2016, paving the way for his wonderful victory. Biden flipped the state in 2020, and campaigns are heavily aimed at him this year.
Trump’s occasion Tuesday in downtown Racine looked like a small-town Fourth of July celebration. Before the presumptive GOP nominee arrived, country music blared through speakers as Trump and American flags fluttered near a harbor overlooking Lake Michigan. Families huddled under the trees, gazing at the 83-degree heat while dining on tacos and sipping lemonade.
“Wisconsin is Trump country,” read a giant sign as his supporters began to gather on the lawn, dressed in red, white and blue.
In a separate television interview Tuesday, Trump also denied reports that the conference planned to spend the night in Chicago, a rival to Milwaukee, 90 miles to the south, where Trump also owns a downtown skyscraper along the Chicago River.
Trump, in his speech, criticized Biden on immigration and borders, adding that his administration would allow certain spouses of U. S. citizens without legal standing to apply for permanent residency and citizenship in the coming months.
The move, which could bring relief to hundreds of thousands of immigrants without legal status in the United States, came after Biden announced his own competing crackdown on the southern border earlier this month, angering his advocates and many lawmakers. Democrats.
Trump has described the record number of immigrants illegally crossing the U. S. -Mexico border as an “invasion,” suggesting without evidence that Biden is encouraging illegal border crossing to help Democrats win elections.
“Our country is invaded. We will not talk about amnesty. Instead, we’re going to talk about preventing the invasion,” Trump said, calling the plan “an attack on American democracy. “
The crowd responded by chanting “Send them back!”
Trump also denied calling Milwaukee, a closed-door assembly with Republican members of Congress in Washington last week, “horrible,” blaming “radical left-wing lunatics” who “lie, lie, lie. “
Last week, Trump spokesman Steven Cheung denied that Trump had used the word, but said it had been taken out of context and “spoke to the horror of crime and voter fraud. “
Several members of Congress who attended the assembly also said Trump was referring to crime and voter fraud, which he said tarnished the 2020 election in the state.
Trump denounces Democratic-led cities as dangerous, even as the FBI’s most recent statistics show violent crime is down across the country, and repeats lies about his 2020 defeat.
Trump has continually called Democratic Sen. Tammy a “radical” who “voted 100 percent with Biden” to applause from the crowd. He thanked his most likely opponent, Eric Hovde, who faces nominal opposition in the Aug. 13 Republican primary, for speaking out. at the rally, calling it the “dynamo” Wisconsin needs.
“Eric is going to defeat his radical left-wing senator,” he said.
Hovde urged the crowd to “fire Joe Biden and Tammy Baldwin. “
The most likely contest between Hovde is expected to be one of the most competitive and expensive Senate races in the country, with Democrats clinging to a 51-49 majority in the Senate.
Hours before Trump took the stage, a line of a slew of supporters snaked around the block between rows of street vendors touting Trump T-shirts, hats, symptoms and flags.
Most of the dozen Trump supporters surveyed said they were focused on the economy.
Among the expected supporters was Emmanuel McKinstry, a 58-year-old businessman from Racine, who said: “For me, the economy is the priority. “
McKinstry said Black-owned small businesses like his were booming in Racine during the Trump administration.
“Everything is more affordable under Trump,” he said. But inflation has skyrocketed under Biden and it’s corporations that are suffering. “
He also said he became involved in the crime in Racine after sentencing two brothers to gun violence.
Dimple Navratil, 58, from Mumbai, India, has lived in Racine for 25 years and runs a small gift shop in the centre called Dimple’s Imports. She said she would speak about her experience as a business owner at the rally.
“Under Trump’s presidency, small businesses were thriving,” he said. “I’m very confident that this will happen again if he’s in power. “
Samantha Cross, 35, drove just two hours from Radford, Illinois, to attend the rally. With four children, she said the cost of food, school supplies and clothing for her children has skyrocketed amid inflation under the Biden administration. He said he could feed his family of five on about $500 a month. Today, that rate has doubled, he says.
“I’m for my children’s future,” she said.
And Matthew Brown, 56, said he struggled to pay Racine for the new contract while he was worried about his mother, who has dementia.
“I hope Trump fixes this mess, or at least tries to,” he said. Brown wore a blouse that read “Vote for the Criminal” in bright red, white and blue.
Republican National Committee spokesman Jacob Fischer issued this before the rally:
The Wisconsin Democratic Party released Tuesday morning about Trump’s visit:
Colvin reported from New York.