Takeaways from VP Kamala Harris' campaign stops in Milwaukee, La Crosse, Green Bay

Vice President Kamala Harris crisscrossed Wisconsin Thursday, making campaign stops in Milwaukee, La Crosse and Green Bay with less than three weeks to go in the presidential race.

After staying overnight at Milwaukee's historic Pfister Hotel, Harris began the day by privately speaking to students at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where a group of pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered outside to protest her visit. There, she addressed the news media about the killing of Hamas' military leader Yahya Sinwar by Israel.

Harris then traveled to La Crosse and Green Bay, focusing part of her remarks on her economic plans, an issue on which former President Donald Trump has an advantage among Wisconsin voters, according to Marquette University Law School polling. She also criticized her Republican rival, former President Donald Trump, for his comments about Jan. 6 and in vitro fertilization.

Here are the takeaways from Harris' trip to Wisconsin.

Harris talks economic plans, criticizes Trump 'gaslighting'

At her final stop in Wisconsin Thursday night, Harris spoke at an at-capacity crowd of more than 4,000 at the Resch Expo in Ashwaubenon, just outside of Green Bay.

Harris spent part of her remarks criticizing Trump's comment at a town hall Wednesday night that the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol was a "day of love."

"The American people are exhausted with his gaslighting," Harris said, repeating a line she said earlier in La Crosse. "We are ready to turn the page."

The campaign also played clips of Trump calling himself the "father of IVF" at a town hall for women voters earlier this week. The crowd started chants of "lock him up!" after hearing the clips.

"OK, the courts will take care of that. Let's take care of November," Harris responded.

Harris also discussed some of her economic plans, including $25,000 in down payment assistance, a $6,000 child tax credit for new parents, and expanding Medicare to cover home health care for seniors.

"I share with you some of these details to say this: I will always put the middle class and working families first," Harris said.

Billionaire businessman Mark Cuban calls Trump's tariff policies 'gibberish'

Joining Harris in Milwaukee and La Crosse was billionaire businessman Mark Cuban, a longtime owner of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks and celebrity investor on the long-running TV program "Shark Tank."

Cuban likened Trump to “The Grinch” during his remarks at the UW-La Crosse Recreational Eagle Center, referring to Trump's vow to raise tariffs on imported goods.

“I honestly think that he used to understand how tariffs work,” Cuban told Harris supporters in La Crosse, saying that in the 1990s and early 2000s Trump was “a little bit coherent” and “actually made a little bit of sense” when he discussed tariffs and trade policy.

Trump’s policies now, Cuban said, are “just gibberish.”

“Hear me when I say that Donald Trump wants you to have a lousy Christmas,” Cuban said. “Donald Trump is the Grinch that wants to steal your Christmas.”

Harris counters hecklers at La Crosse event

Vice President Kamala Harris was interrupted by hecklers at a rally for supporters at the La Crosse Recreational Eagle Center Thursday.

It was the Democratic presidential nominee's second campaign event in the battleground state of Wisconsin on the day.

About 20 minutes into Harris' speech, several attendees were escorted out while shouting, "Jesus is Lord!" at those around them.

Unfazed, Harris stopped her remarks and countered.

"Oh, you guys are at the wrong rally," she said. "No, I think you meant to go to the smaller one down the street."

The crowd erupted into cheers and applause as the protesters were shown toward the door.

What happened behind closed doors at Harris' UWM stop

Harris' motorcade drove past pro-Palestinian protesters on the UW-Milwaukee campus before meeting behind closed doors with other students inside the Lubar Entrepreneurship Center, an event that, at the last minute, was closed to the news media. The protesters said UWM had blood on its hands for inviting Harris to campus because she has been vice president during the Israel-Hamas war.

One protester confronted Harris inside the building during the event when she told students she was invested in them.

"And in genocide, right? Billions of dollars in genocide?" the activist asked, according to video posted by one of the pro-Palestinian student groups active on campus.

Harris told the protester she respected his right to speak but she was speaking and that she wanted a ceasefire, a response met by cheers from other students in the room.

UWM Police removed the person, who was cited for disorderly conduct, according to a university spokesperson.

At UWM, Harris comments on killing of Hamas military leader

Harris's campaign at the last minute scrapped its plans to allow the press to be present when Harris met with students at UW-Milwaukee along with Cuban.

Instead, Harris made a brief statement to reporters about the killing of Hamas's military leader Yahya Sinwar by Israeli defense forces. Sinwar is regarded as the architect of the militant group's Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel that prompted the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

Harris on Thursday said Israel had a right to defend itself and that Hamas's threat to Israel "must be eliminated."

"Today, there is clear progress toward that goal," Harris said. "Hamas is decimated, and its leadership is eliminated. This moment gives us an opportunity to finally end the war in Gaza. And it must end such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom and self-determination."

She did not take questions.

Pro-Palestinian protesters gather ahead of Harris visit, no apparent arrests

About 50 to 100 pro-Palestinian protesters gathered ahead of Harris's arrival at UW-Milwaukee, and a number of police departments also made their presence known.

The protesters chanted and carried flags near the Lubar Entrepreneurship Center on the UW-Milwaukee campus. About 30 of the protesters were demonstrating from within police tape boundaries, directly outside the building.

Squad cars from several departments, including Mukwonago, Hartland, Caledonia, Burlington, Glendale, Menomonee Falls, UW-Madison and the State Patrol, were present.

At one point, police surrounded the students near the building on all sides, prompting protesters with bullhorns outside the police tape to chant, “let them go” and say UWM had blood on its hands for inviting Harris to campus because she has been vice president during the Israel-Hamas war.

Dozens of officers and squad cars continued surrounding the students but did not arrest them as Harris' motorcade arrived.

Members of the press pool walked in the building past the chanting protesters while other SUVs parked along the side of the building. At least one protester called reporters “Nazis” as they entered the UW-Milwaukee buildings.

The protesters chanted such things as “Kamala, Kamala, you can’t hide. We charge you with genocide.” And, “UWM is painted red, 40,000 dead.”

Shortly after Harris's motorcade left, the students were released from the area within the police tape to cheers from other protesters. There were no apparent arrests.

Republicans say Harris visits won't 'move the needle' ahead of Election Day

Trump's campaign on Thursday said Harris's visit "isn’t going to move the needle for her failing campaign."

"Wisconsin will prove itself to be Trump Country when it votes for a return to the peace, prosperity, and stability of the first Trump presidency in November,” Wisconsin Communications Director Jacob Fischer said in a statement.

Republican Party of Wisconsin Chairman Brian Schimming in a statement said Harris was "expecting us to ignore what our bank statements and monthly budgets make clear: that we were better off four years ago under President Trump."

Marquette University Law School polls of Wisconsin voters have found that the economy remains voters' top issue in Wisconsin, and an issue that voters consider Trump better at handling.

Kelly Meyerhofer of the Journal Sentinel contributed.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Takeaways from VP Kamala Harris' three campaign stops in Wisconsin