Milwaukee RNC an 'unprecedented' moment combining hospitality, politics and police

For four days, deep blue Milwaukee became a bright red dot.

Inside and around downtown's credentials-only "hard" perimeter of the Republican National Convention was a sea of red MAGA hats, red dresses and red decorations.

Fiserv Forum was transformed into the stage for the internationally broadcast event, an occasion that took on more significance after former President Donald Trump narrowly survived an assassination attempt less than 48 hours before the convention at which he was formally nominated to run for a second term in the White House.

The convention gave out about 50,000 credentials for the event that took place Monday through Thursday at Fiserv Forum, the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena and the Baird Center, according to an RNC spokesperson.

Surrounding the hard zone, tall black fences and concrete barriers coupled with security checkpoints created a maze through downtown. Public transit buses were rerouted to circumvent the secured area and some of the community's most vulnerable, including the homeless, faced additional hurdles to reaching food pantries and other resources.

Some businesses thrived while others were prepared for an influx of visitors that proved smaller than expected.

Then there were the oddities of a political convention: Think a peaceful crossing of paths near Cathedral Square between one woman dressed as a rotund baby Trump and another holding what appeared to be an anti-abortion sign — or the nearly 400-page book of "Collected Poems of Donald J. Trump" compiled from his social media posts and available for purchase.

The largest protest against the RNC, long planned for the first day, went off without incident. And while demonstrators at the city-designated sites largely did not show up, there were still tense moments like when a crowd formed around protesters arguing through bullhorns outside a security checkpoint.

Police from across the nation patrolled not just in the immediate vicinity of the convention but also in other areas of the city, in one case positioning Ohio police to fatally shoot a homeless man armed with knives in King Park. That shooting sparked questions about the Milwaukee Police Department's public and private statements ahead of the convention and prompted the department to include a Milwaukee police representation in all bicycle units like the one involved in the shooting.

At the end of it all, the city's Democratic mayor who courted the Republican convention summed it up this way:

"Unprecedented," is how Mayor Cavalier Johnson described the week Friday morning at a quiet City Hall.

"We had never hosted something so large here before," he said. "This was a massive, massive event that ... spanned the gamut. It was part hospitality, part politics, a big part law enforcement. There are so many things in the mix but in all those spaces, in all those spaces overall, I think that everybody delivered. It was a herculean effort to get this done."

He said people throughout the week relayed the same message: "Milwaukee in all those spaces shined. The city just shined."

Milwaukee visitors find 'beautiful city' during Republican National Convention

While Johnson and other city leaders saw the RNC as an opportunity to introduce Milwaukee to the world, Republican convention organizers viewed it as a four-day sprint to energize delegates and voters for the four-month push to take back the White House in November.

For at least one delegate it seemed to have served both purposes.

AK Kamara from the Minnesota delegation had been told Milwaukee was the "armpit of the Midwest," but this week has changed his mind.

"It's actually a pretty beautiful city," he said.

Kamara said the packed schedule of panels and parties and events was why he was at the RNC. He came to network and "make meaningful connections," he said.

Most of his conversations centered around the best campaigning and get-out-the-vote strategies.

"How are you getting people to door-knock, how are you getting people to volunteer?" he said.

And through all those events, Kamara saw a fair bit of the city, from Twisted Fisherman to Shakers Cigar Bar, the Harley-Davidson Museum and American Family Field. But the security perimeter deterred him from venturing in and out of the credentialed zone to grab dinner on his own.

"It's not super conducive to exploring the city," he said.

Anna Bryson, an alternate delegate from California, stood on the balcony at Villa Terrace that overlooks a breathtaking view of Lake Michigan on Sunday afternoon. It was her first time in Milwaukee and in Wisconsin.

“This is so beautiful, and I never knew,” Bryson said. “I’ve never seen a video of the coastline here. It’s gorgeous.”

In preparing for the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Jessica Patterson, chair of the California GOP, worked with venues and hotels to make sure the California delegation had a great experience.

“Everybody has been so incredibly welcoming to our California delegation, and everyone that we worked with from the hotels to the venues has just been fantastic,” Patterson said.

Businesses see different results with RNC in town

Milwaukee officials' primary justification for bringing a Republican convention to this heavily Democratic city was economic — both in the moment and, they hope, for years to come.

Some businesses saw an uptick from the tens of thousands of visitors. Others weren't so fortunate.

Wednesday night in the Third Ward, more than a dozen parking spots were available on North Broadway about 6:30 p.m. A modest gathering of mostly neighborhood residents enjoyed live music and free beer at Catalano Square. On virtually any other summer night, it would be challenging to find parking in that area and the sidewalks, bars and restaurants would be filled with far more people.

Karen Bell, who operates Bavette La Boucherie, a restaurant and butcher shop at 217 N. Broadway, said Thursday her business had picked up from earlier in the week.

But a lot of her regular lunch customers were working remotely during the RNC, she said, while dinner patrons were likely uninterested in navigating downtown's street closures.

"It wasn't like it was successful for us," Bell said.

At the Third Ward's Milwaukee Public Market, home to about 20 restaurants, taverns and shops, business activity was better on Wednesday and Thursday compared to earlier in the week, Executive Director Paul Schwartz said.

Cubanitas and Brunch It Up, both in the 700 block of North Milwaukee Street, also reported an increase in customers.

"It's been getting busier and busier every day," Cubanitas co-owner Marta Bianchini said. She and co-owner Marc Bianchini, her husband, said word about their Cuban restaurant spread among visiting law enforcement officers.

Brunch It Up General Manager Allison Moseley said Thursday was "right on the mark" after slow days Monday through Wednesday.

SportClub, Barrel Burrito Co. and Experts Only Apres Bar, all in the 700 block of North Jefferson Street, were hurt by the security perimeter around the nearby Pfister Hotel, where Trump was staying.

"It’s made access to the street difficult or confusing for many of the guests at area hotels," said Mike Eitel, whose Caravan Hospitality Group LLC operates those businesses.

Losses were mitigated by Barrel Burrito's carryout business with law enforcement officers, Eitel said, as well as catering gigs.

Meanwhile, tavern and restaurant operator Bobby Wiltgen said business was slower than expected at his three King Drive establishments just outside the Fiserv Forum security zone: Who's On Third, Oak Barrel Public House and Third Street Tavern.

Some restaurants and taverns did well by hosting special events. Those included Mo's ... A Place for Steaks and Mo's Irish Pub, both near the corner of West Wisconsin and North Plankinton avenues. That led to "really great" business, owner John Vassallo said.

Events also helped draw business to 3rd Street Market Hall, 275 W. Wisconsin Ave. But food hall vendors such as Johnathan Dye, founder of Mr. Dye's Pies, said the week was still slower than normal — something Dye attributed to the heavy security presence.

"They have completely, thoroughly run off our regular customer base," he said. "It's been challenging."

Disappointing results also were reported by Bronzeville neighborhood restaurants just north of downtown.

"We always said not every restaurant was going to have its busiest week ever," said Peggy Williams-Smith, president and chief executive officer of Visit Milwaukee, a publicly funded nonprofit group that promotes Milwaukee as a travel destination.

Restaurants would have done better if more downtown employees hadn't worked remotely, she said, and if more area residents would have ventured downtown, where traffic issues east of the Milwaukee River were minimal.

Still, the convention's overall economic impact was strong for Milwaukee area hotels, restaurants and other businesses, she said.

And the RNC generated a ton of free advertising for Milwaukee as a destination for other business and leisure travelers, Williams-Smith said.

"I couldn't spend enough money to get that kind of marketing," she said.

Reince Priebus, chairman of the nonpartisan MKE 2024 Host Committee, said businesses' locations played a role in the traffic they saw during the convention. Some businesses "made a lot of money," he said, and "some wish they made more."

The Host Committee held several events and parties in restaurants in the lead-up to the convention, he said.

Priebus said this convention is like an audition for future events — whether it be WrestleMania or professional sports all-star games — to come to Milwaukee."The real money isn’t just this event," Priebus said. "The real money is all the future events that are going to come here. And they’re not going to have all the security to deal with either."

An economic impact report will likely be issued in about two months.

Business challenges seen at RNC Convention Fest, too

Walking outside in near 90-degree weather is not an ideal shopping environment, but that was the case for the first day of Convention Fest inside the hard security perimeter.

On Monday, dozens of vendors showed off their products or services to credentialed delegates, media and other officials.

Madan Raj, founder and president of Bobbletopia, started his company in Omaha four years ago and quickly moved to Milwaukee.

Raj had several different versions of Trump in presidential form, but also as William Wallace from the movie Braveheart, and the Trumpinator, inspired by the Terminator.

“People have taken pictures of the Trump bobbleheads,” Raj said adding he’s had a few sales but that many people have decided to buy items later in the week, so they wouldn't have to carry them as long.

Raj said he worked with the Committee on Arrangements for the Republican National Committee to register for the event and drop off his inventory. He praised the setup done for him, allowing him to simply bring in his inventory.

The lack of sales was the same for Brew City Brand.

Manager Gregory Harris said the company had a few sales. The most popular item was a yellow “Make America Grate Again” shirt showing cheese and a cheese grater, and a shirt that reads “I’m old fashioned” featuring an old fashioned drink — both nods to the host state's love of dairy and drink.

Harris said this year many people outside Wisconsin have become aware of the brand.

“Just this year alone we’ve had a lot of people from other states, even other countries, come to Milwaukee, and they hear good things about our store so they either go to the (Milwaukee) Public Market location or the 3rd Street Market Hall,” Harris said.

Police shooting by Ohio officers brings scrutiny to RNC, while protests are largely uneventful

A quiet first day of the convention was quickly erased on Tuesday when officers from Columbus, Ohio, shot and killed Samuel Sharpe Jr., a man wielding two knives who is seen in a quickly released, 31-second body camera video moving toward another man as police shout commands at him before firing.

Only halfway through the convention, the shooting about a mile from the convention placed the Milwaukee Police Department’s safety plan for the convention under intense scrutiny. It prompted the department to change how it was handling non-forward-facing police units from agencies outside the city and led the department to clarify parts of the security plan that were previously underreported.

The city’s top leaders, including Johnson and Police Chief Jeffrey Norman, defended the Columbus police officers' actions, while activists, state Rep. Ryan Clancy and others said it confirmed their fears about bringing thousands of officers from across the state and nation to the city as part of the security plan. Those concerns were reiterated at a vigil on Tuesday night.

"Someone's life was in danger," Norman said at a Tuesday press conference. "These officers who are not from this area took upon themselves to act to save someone's life today."

Use-of-force experts and police leaders said the body camera footage suggested a local officer would’ve acted the same. Yet family and activists pushed back against that idea and the way things unfolded.

In a GoFundMe, his sister Angelique Sharpe criticized the idea that her brother was lunging forward, noting he had multiple sclerosis. On Thursday, she spoke at a demonstration to reporters.

"What's legal and what's moral isn't always the same," she said. "People have created ways, protocols, to not have a moral compass about stuff."

The police shooting of Sharpe clouded the convention that officials said otherwise was largely safe. Other incidents were relatively minor or handled without issue.

A 21-year-old was arrested blocks from the RNC wearing a ski mask, gloves and found to be carrying an AK-47-style pistol, according to a criminal complaint filed by the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office on Wednesday. He is charged with carrying a concealed weapon without a permit, a Class A misdemeanor.

And a 17-year-old was arrested on suspicion of stealing a Chevy Tahoe belonging to former president Donald Trump’s campaign advance team.

Concerns over a protest march through the city, and not on a city-designated protest route, were not realized.

The Coalition to March on the RNC2024 held its demonstration the first day of the convention and, aside from one arrest after it ended, it went off without any issues. About 500 people marched.

Largely, the city’s police and fire officials called the event a success, despite the shooting of Sharpe.

The Fire Department handled mainly minor medical events — especially during a grueling day of heat on the convention’s first day — and Fire Chief Aaron Lipski said that after some initial growing pains things went smoothly. He said that his department was tired, but they expected that.

“I tell you what, we’ve never participated in an operation that is this complex or had this many layers or this much complexity in this absolutely ridiculous political environment we’re participating in,” he said. “(Staff) are actually enjoying being part of something. … It’s a five-day adrenaline rush.”

Heads of both the rank-and-file unions for the Fire Department and Police Department agreed that things had gone smoothly.

Lipski said he believed that the event has set them up for future success.

“We’ll have dozens of large-scale events in a couple of years … this will do nothing but inform a more positive outcome for all of us. We have the big one under our belt,” he said.

The Milwaukee Police Department declined to make Norman available for an interview about his assessment of public safety at the RNC.

RNC puts U.S. politics and Milwaukee on national stage

The political cacophony that defines American presidential election years could not be avoided for blocks around the convention area.

There were, of course, nights filled with RNC speeches and counterprogramming from Democrats on issues like abortion and labor unions. And there was political messaging from various perspectives from people who came to town to make their point.

But the week also began in a rare bipartisan spirit as Democrats and Republicans alike condemned the attempted assassination of Trump and political violence more broadly.

The assassination attempt changed the mood of the convention as visitors were arriving ahead of Monday.

“We had delegates arriving as these events were unfolding,” said Patterson, chair of the California GOP. “We saw delegates huddled together as they watched on the TVs in the lobby, watching, really, in disbelief.”

More: Meet the Trump supporters sporting ear patches at the RNC in Milwaukee this week

Even Trump, who is not shy about attacking his rivals in personal terms, began his reworked Thursday night acceptance speech with a unifying tone. He then devolved into attacks on President Joe Biden and labeled Nancy Pelosi, the former U.S. House speaker whose husband was attacked in their home by a man seeking to hold her hostage, "crazy Nancy Pelosi."

Sharing the stage with Trump and other speakers was the host city, which was featured prominently in an RNC 2024 logo suspended behind them.

Even before the RNC began, the media spotlight city leaders sought in courting the convention had turned to Milwaukee. National media outlets moved production to Wisconsin's largest city, and the stories of Johnson and local Republicans like Milwaukee County GOP Chairman Hilario Deleon were featured on outlets read by people across the country.

That attention on the city and its people continued into the week, with speakers mentioning Milwaukee and Wisconsin from the stage and the city getting love online from visitors.

Dana Perino, co-anchor of FOX News Channel's "America’s Newsroom" in a video post on X called Milwaukee a "great city" and spoke highly of its food scene, art museum and, of course, its location on the shores of Lake Michigan.

"One of the things I think is most charming about Milwaukee is that it is so near the lake, and you don't necessarily know that when you're right downtown, but what's the clue? All the seagulls," Perino said. "So, you have these beautiful birds flying around and the sounds and it just makes you feel like you're in a very special place."

Lawrence Andrea, Mary Spicuzza, Jessie Opoien, Ashley Luthern, John Diedrich, Laura Schulte, La Risa R. Lynch, Rachel Hale, Gina Lee Castro and Kathryn Muchnick of the Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this story.

Alison Dirr can be reached at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee RNC an 'unprecedented' moment, mayor says