Takeaways from Donald Trump's campaign stops in Wisconsin's liberal bastions
Just over a month before Election Day, former President Donald Trump made stops Tuesday in Wisconsin's two Democratic strongholds — Dane County and Milwaukee.
The events come after top state Republicans, including former Gov. Tommy Thompson, urged the Trump campaign to include those communities in its efforts to win this critical swing state in November.
Despite their deep blue politics, the state's two largest population centers are also home to a lot of Republicans due to their sheer size.
A Journal Sentinel analysis, for instance, found that there are more GOP voters in the city of Milwaukee than in any other community in Wisconsin, though they differ in a number of ways from Republicans in other parts of the state.
Second gentleman Doug Emhoff also campaigned in Milwaukee Tuesday.
The events come just three days after Trump visited Prairie du Chien where he spent much of his time criticizing Vice President Kamala Harris over immigration policy.
The campaigns of Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Harris along with their surrogates have been holding seemingly nonstop events across Wisconsin in an effort to win voters the state on Nov. 5.
Here are takeaways from Trump's visit to Waunakee and Milwaukee on Tuesday:
Trump's Waunakee speech was billed as economic address, focused more on other issues
Trump spoke for about an hour and 15 minutes in Waunakee, wrapping up his speech at 3:20 p.m.
His campaign previewed the speech as one that would critique the current Democratic administration's economic policy, and he opened by announcing, "This is a speech on economics and bringing back business and things."
But he spoke for more than 30 minutes before touching on economic issues — aside from a brief tangent during which he said he wouldn't trust Harris or Democratic President Joe Biden "to run a lemonade stand."
The bulk of his speech, before he turned to economic topics, was spent referencing escalating tensions in the Middle East, falsely characterizing Harris' replacement of Biden as the Democratic presidential nominee a "coup," and criticizing the current administration's immigration policy and violent crime.
"These people are grossly incompetent, and now we have them in charge of potentially World War III," he said of Biden and Harris. "If I win, we will have peace in the world again. … If Kamala … gets four more years the world goes up in smoke."
Trump argued that, while the economy is an important issue, "the hardest thing we have to do is solve the crime problem."
Immigration comments follow a similar theme at Prairie du Chien rally
Trump spoke Saturday in Prairie du Chien, a city of about 5,500 people along the Mississippi River, where he delivered what he described as a "dark" speech referencing a case in which Prairie du Chien police say a man with ties to Tren De Aragua, a Venezuela-based transnational criminal organization, sexually assaulted a woman and attacked her daughter earlier this month
Police have said the victim and suspect knew each other, which is common in sexual assault cases, and that they have not come into contact with other members of the gang. According to the criminal complaint, the suspect and victim had been living together and dating for three weeks.
He referenced that case again on Tuesday.
Trump claimed 50,000 to 60,000 people were turned away from his Prairie du Chien event
In Waunakee and again in Milwaukee, Trump claimed 50,000 to 60,000 people were turned away from his Saturday rally in Prairie du Chien. About a thousand people were standing in line to get into the rally, but the auditorium sat somewhere near 300 people. Crawford County, where Prairie du Chien is located, has a population of about 16,000.
The rally was initially planned to be held outdoors but switched to indoors over Secret Service staffing concerns. The agency was responsible for securing the United Nations General Assembly summit in New York on the same day.
It's unclear why the Milwaukee event was ultimately closed to the public. General admission tickets were available for the event and some supporters still hoped to be admitted Tuesday night.
A spokesman for the U.S. Secret Service told the Journal Sentinel it wasn't tracking any security issues Tuesday night and any changes to the event format were likely a decision made by the campaign. The campaign declined to comment.
Economic remarks focus on inflation, tax policy, energy
A Marquette University Law School poll released last month showed that the economy was the top issue for Wisconsin voters, with 41% ranking it as their first priority. The same poll found that to be true among 42% of independent voters.
Addressing a crowd of about 500 (with a reported 4,500 supporters outside the facility) at Dane Manufacturing, Trump pledged to cut taxes on American manufacturers to 15%, "but only if you make the product here." Otherwise, he said, "we’re going to use the power of the tariff."
He also pledged, if elected, to bring energy prices in the U.S. down by 50% within a year of taking office, declaring the country has "liquid gold" by way of "more oil and gas under our feet than anybody else."
Other themes include 'Full Metal Jacket,' 'foul language,' Brittney Griner
Trump's disjointed remarks bounced from topic to topic separate from an economic message.
Trump repeated criticism of a prisoner swap involving WNBA star Brittney Griner and arms dealer Viktor Bout. Bout, the so-called “merchant of death,” was exchanged in a 2022 prisoner swap for Griner, who had spent nearly a year in Russian captivity.
He again effectively accused Griner of not being patriotic enough, saying she “tied her shoes” during the national anthem. Griner played for Team USA in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, winning gold both times. Then, at the 2024 Paris Olympics, as Griner stood on the medal stand with her third gold medal draped around her neck, tears streamed down her face as she stood for the national anthem.
Last year, Bout urged Trump to seek refuge in Russia, saying he believed his life was “in peril.”
The former president also spent time arguing the 1987 film "Full Metal Jacket" should have received Academy Awards. That tangent weaved its way into an aside noting that Rev. Franklin Graham prefers Trump tell his stories without "foul language."
"He's wrong about that. It's not as good," he said.
Trump's visit to Milwaukee's Discovery World follows visit by VP Kamala Harris earlier in election cycle
Trump's visit to Discovery World follows one by Harris in May, before President Joe Biden dropped out of the race and she ascended to the top of the Democratic ticket.
In that visit, Harris also focused on the economy as part of an "economic opportunity tour."
But, unlike Trump, she argued that the Biden-Harris Administration's economic policies have helped Americans and, in particular, addressed disparities that affect Black Americans and business owners.
State Republicans praise Trump for campaigning in blue areas
Former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson was the most prominent voice encouraging Trump to campaign in Madison and Milwaukee, considering it one of the four keys to winning Wisconsin as a Republican. Trump praised Thompson as "the dean" while speaking in Waunakee.
"You have to go where the votes are. You have to go where the opposition is. You have to come into Dane County, Milwaukee County and southwestern Wisconsin," Thompson said. "Dane County has the third-most Republican votes in the state of Wisconsin, and all we have to do is increase them."
"Democrats," he said, "get the hell out of our way."
At a panel discussion before Trump spoke in Milwaukee, Republican U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil thanked the former president for "campaigning in two of the most blue areas of our state."
"We as conservatives, we as Republicans, we as supporters of President Trump, know that we have the answers to the challenges that our country faces, that our communities face. In particular, blue cities across the country, and the challenges that they face," Steil said.
On Wisconsin election, Trump says 'people will watch the process a lot closer'
As absentee voting begins in Wisconsin, Trump said he thought there would be closer scrutiny of the process.
"I think that people are watching this time," he said. "We have lots of lawyers watching."
Trump and Republicans have sent mixed messages to the party's voters over whether to embrace absentee voting, as Democrats have.
Asked whether he trusted the process Tuesday, he replied, "I'll let you know in about 33 days."
Evers says Wisconsin families will reject Trump in November
In a statement released Tuesday morning, Democratic Gov. Tony Evers said, "I know Wisconsin families, and they’re going to reject (Trump) again in November."
"As president, Donald Trump was a disaster for Wisconsin, and we haven’t forgotten. A second term would be a heck of a lot worse — Trump’s extreme Project 2025 agenda would hurt working families, cut Social Security and Medicare, dismantle support for public education across the country and more," Evers said. "Vice President Harris is the only candidate in this race fighting to lower costs, cut taxes and invest in Wisconsin’s future.”
Emhoff also focused his Tuesday visit on the economy, addressing about 100 people at Diamond Discs International, a small manufacturing business in Milwaukee. He also met with minority small business owners.
Editor's note: The Journal Sentinel requested interviews with Donald Trump during his events in Prairie du Chien on Saturday and Waunakee and Milwaukee on Tuesday. The campaign declined to make him available. The Journal Sentinel has also requested interviews with Kamala Harris, including coinciding with her Sept. 20 rally in Madison. The campaign declined to make her available. Trump gave an interview with a Journal Sentinel reporter before a May campaign event in Waukesha. He also took questions from reporters during his Milwaukee event on Tuesday.
(This story was updated add new information and photos.)
Jessie Opoien can be reached at [email protected]. Alison Dirr can be reached at [email protected]. Mary Spicuzza can be reached at [email protected]. Hope Karnopp can be reached at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Takeaways from Trump's campaign stops in Wisconsin's liberal bastions