Trump refers to Milwaukee as ‘horrible’ simply earlier than the town hosts the Republican conference

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Former President Donald Trump used the phrase “horrible” in speaking about Milwaukee — the town the place he’ll settle for the Republican nomination subsequent month — throughout a closed-door assembly Thursday with GOP congressmen, in line with a number of individuals within the room who spoke afterward.

The remark, first reported by Punchbowl Information whereas the assembly was in progress, instantly drew disagreements from these there about what Trump meant.

A number of congressmen who help Trump and attended the assembly argued he was referring to crime and voter fraud. Trump incessantly denounces Democratic-led cities as unsafe — at the same time as violent crime decreased nationally in the latest FBI statistics — and repeats falsehoods about his loss within the 2020 election.

President Joe Biden’s marketing campaign and his Democratic allies pounced on the reported comment at the same time as Wisconsin Republicans contested the way it was being interpreted. Biden posted a photograph on the X social platform of himself greeting the Milwaukee Bucks after their 2021 NBA championship with the message: “I occur to like Milwaukee.”

Milwaukee is hosting the Republican Nationwide Conference beginning July 15 and is the biggest Democratic stronghold in swing-state Wisconsin.

Trump is scheduled to be in Racine, Wisconsin, for a marketing campaign rally on Tuesday, simply three weeks earlier than heading to Milwaukee for the conference.

Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung posted on X that Trump “was speaking about how horrible crime and voter fraud are.”

Republican U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden, who represents western Wisconsin, stated Trump was speaking in regards to the “horrible or horrible” crime fee within the metropolis.

“He was instantly referring to crime in Milwaukee,” stated Van Orden, who informed The Related Press he was sitting simply toes from the previous president.

He stated Republicans within the room concurred. “They’re like, yeah, crime is horrible.”

U.S. Rep, Scott Fitzgerald, additionally from Wisconsin, informed WISN-TV in Milwaukee that Trump was referring to election integrity.

“That’s the place the remark got here from, that Milwaukee’s simply horrible,” Fitzgerald stated. “What he was speaking about was the elections in Milwaukee, their issues about them.”

However Republican U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil, who represents southeast Wisconsin, disputed that Trump made the remark.

“I used to be within the room,” Steil posted on X. “President Trump didn’t say this. There is no such thing as a higher place than Wisconsin in July.”

And Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, who represents northern Wisconsin, stated he by no means heard Trump name Milwaukee a “horrible metropolis.”

“What I heard is to ensure there’s election integrity in Milwaukee,” Tiffany stated in a phone interview. “He’s speaking in regards to the states which are in play and the states of best significance and Wisconsin is high of the listing.”

A Trump aide and two attorneys who suggested him in 2020 had been charged with felonies final week in Wisconsin for his or her roles in a scheme to get Republicans to solid Wisconsin’s electoral ballots to Trump despite the fact that he misplaced the state.

Government and outside investigationshave uniformly found there was no proof of widespread voter fraud that might have swung the 2020 election. However Trump has continued to spread falsehoods in regards to the election, significantly in Wisconsin.

Republican Rep. Jim Banks, of Indiana, stated he was additionally within the room and “Trump by no means disparaged Milwaukee.”

“Simply one other Democrat hoax,” Banks posted on X.

Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson, when requested about Trump’s reported remarks, stated at a information convention, “If Donald Trump needs to speak about issues that he thinks are horrible, all of us lived by means of his presidency, so proper again at you buddy.”

U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore, a Democrat who represents and lives in Milwaukee, made a nod to Trump’s current felony convictions in her response. Trump is scheduled to be sentenced in New York on July 11, days earlier than the conference opens.

“As soon as he’s settled in together with his parole officer, I’m sure he’ll uncover that Milwaukee is a superb, vibrant and welcoming metropolis filled with numerous neighborhoods and a thriving enterprise group,” Moore posted on X.

Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, who’s up for reelection this yr, stated on X that Milwaukee is “a part of what makes Wisconsin one of the best state within the nation. Donald Trump wouldn’t perceive even when a jury informed him so.” She used the Trump remark in a fundraising plea hours after it was first reported.

Native and statewide Democratic leaders, together with Gov. Tony Evers, labored with Republicans to land the conference this summer time.

Evers, in response to Trump’s remark, posted on X: “Add it to the listing of issues Donald Trump is incorrect about.” He adopted it with an emoji of a clown face.

Milwaukee was purported to host the 2020 Democratic Nationwide Conference, however that was moved nearly completely on-line due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

___ Related Press writers Jill Colvin and Lisa Mascaro in Washington contributed to this report.