Former President Donald Trump talks about immigration, economy in Waukesha: recap of Wednesday's rally

Former President Donald Trump was in Waukesha Wednesday for his second rally of the presidential campaign in Wisconsin, speaking at the Waukesha County Expo Center.

Trump's visit comes off the heels of the latest Marquette University Law School poll, which showed him with a two-percentage point lead over President Joe Biden, well within the margin of error. Wisconsin is one of just a handful of contested states that will decide the next presidential election.

Trump was last in Wisconsin on April 2, when he held a rally in Green Bay. The Waukesha rally is Trump's first campaign event since the start of his hush money trial in Manhattan.

Here's a recap of the day's events:

Immigration, economy major focus of Trump's speech

Similar to his rally in Green Bay, Trump used his speech to criticize Biden on his handling of the U.S.-Mexico border, calling it "the worst border in the history of the world."

"Biden came in and unleashed mayhem on our economy, just like he unleashed mayhem on our border," Trump said. "They have people flowing in from the poorest and the heaviest-crime countries all over the world."

In the latest Marquette University Law School poll, Wisconsin voters considered Trump better than Biden at handling immigration and border security, plus the economy, Israel-Hamas war and foreign relations. Biden had the lead on health care, abortion policy and Medicare and Social Security.

Voters overall ranked the economy as their top issue, with 33% saying it would be most important for deciding who to vote for. Immigration and border security was the second, with 21% citing that issue.

More: Takeaways from Donald Trump's Wisconsin rally: economy, immigration, early voting

— Hope Karnopp

Democrats focus on abortion policy in response

In response to Trump's visit, Democrats focused on abortion access, a key message that they've delivered at Biden campaign events.

"Trump’s abortion bans are wreaking havoc across the country — something he called “incredible” today — and he’s fine with it. Because it’s all about him, not Wisconsin, and not America," said Brianna Johnson, a spokeswoman for the Biden-Harris campaign in Wisconsin.

"As president, Donald Trump delivered less jobs and paved the way for extreme abortion bans across America. His next term could be worse: more bans, more suffering, and higher costs."

Trump briefly addressed abortion in his speech, repeating his position that abortion is best left up to the states. In an interview before his remarks, he declined to weigh in on whether the state Supreme Court should uphold a lower court's ruling restoring abortion access in Wisconsin.

— Hope Karnopp

Wisconsin chairman of Republican Party will continue promoting early voting

Republican Party of Wisconsin chairman Brian Schimming told reporters he will continue promoting early voting.

“The Republican National Committee will continue to do that, and so will the president,” Schimming said.

Trump has sent mixed messages on early voting, but has recently shifted his tone. Following the 2020 election, Trump sought to throw out ballots cast in-person absentee in Milwaukee and Dane counties.

Waukesha County Executive Paul Farrow also asked the crowd to vote early.

“We are going to get hammered by out-of-state money," Farrow said. "They’re going to flood every single election that we have. If we get out and vote early, that means our dollars can be targeted to those who haven’t voted yet.”

— Hope Karnopp

Staunch Trump ally Mike Lindell splits off over early voting stance

One of Trump’s staunchest allies Wednesday split from the former president on a key issue to the 2024 election cycle: early voting.

Mike Lindell, a pillow manufacturer and one of the most prominent purveyors of Trump’s false election claims, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel he didn't support the former president’s recent about-face on absentee voting.

“I’m 100% against voting early. I always will be," Lindell said. "It’s harder for (Democrats) to cheat with same-day voting."

Trump has long encouraged supporters to abstain from voting absentee and sought to throw out all in-person absentee ballots cast in the two most populous Wisconsin counties during the 2020 election. But Republicans have persuaded Trump to change his stance on the voting option to encourage GOP voters to maximize their voting power.

Lindell, who was meeting with rally attendees Wednesday outside of the Waukesha County Expo Center, also promoted the recall of Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, who has become a target of Trump and his allies over his unwillingness to take steps to overturn Trump’s 2020 loss.

“Robin Vos has to go,” Lindell said. “Vos is the most toxic politician I’ve ever come across.”

— Claudia Levens and Molly Beck

Supporters begin filing into venue for Trump rally

Supporters are slowly beginning to filter in to the Waukesha County Expo Center, where Trump is set to take the stage at 2 p.m.

A large crowd waited outside the expo center long before doors opened, forming a line that snaked through part of the parking lot.

More: Trump backers flock to Wisconsin rally, shrug off break from hush money trial

— Hope Karnopp

Vendors sell Trump merchandise outside rally

Steven Reid, 38, of Tennessee wound through the line of Trump supporters before the doors opened Wednesday trying to sell merchandise.

On his cart were hats, keychains, bracelets and more. He said many people already seemed to have hats, though.

“Sometimes they buy stuff and sometimes they don’t,” said Reid, who said he travels the country selling merchandise at Trump rallies.

— Alison Dirr

Biden campaign slams Trump for 'harmful' working-class policies

Ahead of Trump’s visit to Waukesha, the Biden campaign slammed Trump for his backing of policies the Biden campaign characterizes as being harmful to “working people here in Wisconsin,” citing tax cuts for corporations and the nation’s wealthiest residents.

“Wisconsinites can’t continue to pay the price while Trump only looks out for himself and his rich donors,” Biden’s Wisconsin communications director Brianna Johnson said in a statement.

“Enough is enough. Wisconsinites are throwing their support behind President Biden because his focus is on empowering American workers. He oversaw the fastest rate of union growth in Wisconsin in the last 30 years, became the first sitting president to join a picket line, and just last week announced plans to put more money in workers’ pockets by getting them the overtime pay they deserve."

— Molly Beck

Milwaukee protest organizers denounce Trump visit

On the Southside of Milwaukee, organizers and supporters for Voces De La Frontera gathered as they had for nearly 20 years to march for immigrant rights. But Trump’s visit to Waukesha was not ignored by organizers.

“You are not welcome in Wisconsin,” said Christine Neumann Ortiz, executive director for Voces. “You are the real threat to democracy. You orchestrated a failed coup with your corrupt followers and white supremacists. and we reject your racist platform, that promises, dictatorship, military-style mass, deportation, and family separation.“

And while Trump’s visit gathered attention from organizers, so did the protest encampments at UW-Madison and UW-Milwaukee. Students on those campuses and others around the country have been organizing demonstrations against their universities' involvement with the Israeli government and its action against Palestinians in Gaza.

Omar Flores, co-chair for the Coalition to March on the RNC, said the police response to the encampments 'will inform us of how they will treat us during the RNC.'

“The city of Milwaukee and nearby municipalities plan to roll out the red carpet for the Republicans and their hateful agenda, and the residents will do everything they can to reject hate in our communities,” Flores said.

But the Biden administration received some criticism from activists for its backing of Israel in its conflict with Palestinians.

“We see that the US government found $26 billion to finance Israel’s bombardment and destruction of Gaza over 30 hospitals and can’t find the funds to keep maternity wards here in Milwaukee open,” said Dr. Roa Qato, gynecologist and co-leader of the Milwaukee Chapter of Healthcare Workers for Palestine.

“We see families under Biden, and under Trump, struggling to make ends meet and to be able to pay for necessary medical supplies and medication.”

— Ricardo Torres

Crowd gets to Trump rally in Waukesha early

Bil Aldrich, 51, of DeForest pulled up to the rally before 8:30 a.m. Wednesday in a truck flying a Trump 2020 flag that he said he keeps up even when he's not at an event.

He said he goes to every Trump rally he can, and this is his sixth since October 2020.

“They’re fun, great people,” he said. “Every stranger is a better friend than some of my closest family.”

He called Trump “honest to a fault” and said the criminal charges he's facing are “show trials.”

“They’re BS, but he’ll prevail one way or another, even if he ends up running the country from jail,” Aldrich said.

— Alison Dirr

Trump under gag order about Stormy Daniels trial

Trump is taking advantage of a rare mid-week day out of a New York courtroom where he's on trial for allegedly paying off a porn star to be quiet about a past sexual relationship during his first campaign for president.

But Trump faces potential jail time if he again violates a gag order he's under as part of the court proceeding, making it unlikely he'll mention the case in Waukesha.

Trump was fined after he posted on his social media site Truth Social about potential witnesses in the case, including his former attorney, Michael Cohen, and the porn star at the center of the case, Stormy Daniels.

New York Judge Juan Merchan fined Trump $10,000 for the posts, which he deemed a violation of the gag order, and said Trump should be able to campaign freely and defend himself against political attacks but that he not willfully violate the court’s orders.

“If necessary and appropriate under the circumstances, (the court) will impose an incarceratory punishment,” Merchan wrote.

— Molly Beck

Where is Donald Trump speaking Wednesday?

Trump is holding his rally at the Waukesha County Expo Center, where he speak at around 2 p.m.

The same expo center was used in early March when first lady Jill Biden rallied a crowd of mostly women voters around abortion and health care.

In 2020, Trump won Waukesha County with about 60% of the vote, compared to Biden's 39%. Margins of victory for Republican presidential candidates in the county have dropped from 35 points in 2012 to 27 in 2016 to 21 in 2020.

— Hope Karnopp

What will Donald Trump talk about in Wisconsin on Wednesday?

Trump will "contrast the peace, prosperity and security of his first term with Joe Biden’s failed presidency," his campaign said.

At his Green Bay rally, Trump tore into Biden over his administration's handling of immigration issues at the southern border. The Marquette poll showed Wisconsin voters see Trump better at handling immigration and border security.

Trump also promised to keep Social Security intact if reelected. In that same poll, voters said Biden would do a better job of handling Medicare and Social Security.

Trump also repeated false claims that he won the 2020 election in Wisconsin. Biden won Wisconsin by about 21,000 votes in 2020, a defeat that was key to Trump's reelection loss that year.

— Hope Karnopp

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Donald Trump rally in Wisconsin today; recap from Waukesha event