The Democrats are trying to make the former president pay politically for trash-talking the most populated area of a crucial swing state—one that will play host to the Republican national convention in July—by capitalizing on Trump’s description of Milwaukee as a “horrible” city.
“In a state that’s decided on a razor’s edge, that may ultimately cost Donald Trump the election,” said Cavalier Johnson, the Democratic mayor of Wisconsin’s largest city, speaking to AWN’s Laura Coates later that night.
On Friday, the DNC announced that it would be installing ten billboards across the city that will feature Trump’s remarks. It didn’t take long for President Joe Biden’s campaign to start selling Wisconsin-themed merchandise, including T-shirts and stickers that featured the city of Milwaukee and the phrase “(Not) a Horrible City.”
Meanwhile, prominent party members used social media to draw attention to the comments made by the ex-president at a closed-door meeting with Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill on Thursday.
As the Milwaukee Bucks celebrated their 2021 NBA title with a visit to the White House, Biden shared a photo of himself with a jersey from the team.
“I just so happen to adore Milwaukee,” Biden penned.
“Add it to the list of things Donald Trump is wrong about,” commented Democratic Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers on social media, accompanied by a clown emoji.
The former president reportedly referred to Milwaukee as “horrible” while going on a tirade about crime rates and alleged election integrity concerns during his Thursday meeting with House Republicans.
In response to his comments being mischaracterized, Trump’s campaign issued a statement.
Contrary to popular belief, he never stated anything like that. Campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung stated Thursday on social media that the candidate was discussing the dreadful state of crime and voter fraud.
According to Punchbowl News’ Jake Sherman, who first reported the story on Thursday, the Democratic billboards feature Trump’s comment. Trump reportedly told Sherman, “Milwaukee, where we are having our convention, is a horrible city.” Sherman shared this information on social media.
The remark went viral in Wisconsin, a state that has produced some of the most closely contested presidential races in recent memory. The comment was included in Friday’s main headline of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
“Trump: Milwaukee is completely terrible,” it read.
Trump and his associates have long claimed, without proof, that election fraud is rampant in the Democratic stronghold of Milwaukee. The so-called “WOW counties” of Waukesha, Ozaukee, and Washington have traditionally encircled the blue city in a red collar pattern. Democratic gains in the suburbs of those counties have chipped away at the enormous Republican leads that existed there before Trump took office, reflecting broader national trends.
Trump may address the rumors surrounding his behind-closed-doors comments about Milwaukee during his upcoming campaign event in Racine, Wisconsin, next week.
Out of the many Republicans in the room, a handful said they didn’t hear Trump make the remark.
On Friday, while appearing on “AWN This Morning,” Representative Cory Mills of Florida stated, “No, that is not at all what I heard.”
Several Republican lawmakers, he added, were there and disagreed with his assessment.
Mills clarified that the possibility of the term “horrible” being used in a different context explained why none of them had heard that.
The presence of Wisconsin Republican Rep. Derrick Van Orden on Thursday clarified to AWN that Trump was “specifically referring to crime in Milwaukee” rather than the city generally.
According to Milwaukee Mayor Johnson’s interview with AWN, the city is now “out of issues around crime that raged after the pandemic.”
