Donald Trump denied reports that he initially planned to stay in Chicago during the Republican National Convention next month in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Following a report accusing Trump of calling Milwaukee a “horrible city,” the former president showered tons of love on the city and state during a rally in Racine, Wisconsin, on Tuesday.
However, he said the problem of rising crime in the city needs to be addressed.
Multiple sources told the New York Times and ABC7 in Chicago that Trump planned to stay in Chicago. But it now appears plans have changed after the intent of the campaign was questioned.
Speaking to TMJ4 News, a Milwaukee NBC affiliate, before the rally, Trump said: “I’m going to stay here (in Milwaukee). I was always thinking about staying here.
Immediately after taking the stage at Racine Festival Park with Lake Michigan as a backdrop, Trump defended himself against reports of comments about the “horrible city.”
Donald Trump professed his love for Milwaukee at a rally just 30 miles south of the city after reports claimed the former president called it a “horrible city.”
“You know I love Milwaukee,” Trump told a crowd gathered just 30 miles south of the Wisconsin city.
“I was the one who chose Milwaukee, you know,” he said, referring to the host city of the 2024 Convention.
“I told him: ‘You have to fix crime.’ We all know that,” he continued.
Trump reportedly called Milwaukee a “horrible city” during a closed-door meeting last week with Republican lawmakers at the Capitol.
‘In a desperate attempt to get likes, Fake News Jake Sherman, who wasn’t even in the room, falsely claimed that President Trump called Milwaukee a ‘horrible city.’ “It’s a total lie,” wrote Trump’s deputy communications director, Dylan Johnson.
He added: “President Trump was explicitly addressing the problems in Milwaukee, specifically violent crime and voter fraud.”
Trump’s campaign says he will remain in Milwaukee the week of the convention.
It comes just days after Trump allegedly called Milwaukee a “horrible city” during a Capitol meeting with Republican lawmakers, sparking outrage from critics.
Trump is campaigning in Racine, Wisconsin, with a rally Tuesday just 45 minutes south of Milwaukee.
Donald Trump reportedly said behind closed doors at a meeting with Republican lawmakers in Washington, D.C. on Thursday, June 13, that Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is a “horrible city.” In the photo, Trump leaves a meeting with Republican lawmakers.
Wisconsin is a critical state to win the 2024 presidential election. Trump won the swing state in 2016 by just 0.7 percent. But the state turned blue in 2020 for President Joe Biden by a 0.6 percent margin and helped him defeat Trump.
A senior police source told ABC7 Chicago that Trump intends to stay in Chicago and travel to Milwaukee for the July convention. Two other sources confirmed these plans.
Three people informed about Trump’s logistics for the Convention told the New York Times that would stay 90 miles away, in Chicago, instead of Milwaukee, the host city of the Republican Convention.
Karoline Leavitt, national press secretary for the Trump campaign, responded to the report with: “The president plans to stay in Milwaukee for the Convention.”
Some outcry occurred after Trump called Milwaukee a “horrible city” during a meeting with Republican lawmakers in Washington, D.C. last Thursday. But the Trump campaign, as well as many who attended the Capitol Hill Club event with the former president, claim the media took the comment out of context.
Trump spoke Tuesday, June 18, at a rally in Racine, Wisconsin, just 30 miles south of Milwaukee. In the image: Rally attendees pray before Trump’s arrival.
Trump told Fox News: ‘I love Milwaukee. I have great friends in Milwaukee,’ but he also criticized the crime rate and how it conducts and oversees elections.
Republicans will gather in Milwaukee from July 15-18 for the 2024 Convention, where Trump is expected to officially become the party’s nominee in November.
The Republican Convention takes place just days after Trump’s sentencing in the Manhattan hush money trial on July 11.