President Donald Trump thanked the city of Milwaukee and the state of Wisconsin during his speech at the Republican National Convention on Thursday evening, joking that he was trying to “buy” their votes.
Noting that the Republican Party had spent $250 million on the convention, Trump asked the voters of Wisconsin — a key swing state, crucial to Trump’s victory in 2016 — to remember that investment when they voted in November.
“I am trying to buy your vote. I’ll be honest about that,” Trump joked, to cheers and applause from the audience.
Beyond the joke was an attempt to undo the damage of a reported remark in June — which Trump denied making — that Milwaukee was a “horrible” city. Trump’s spokesman said he had been referring to crime and voter fraud, not the city itself.
Wisconsin’s ten electoral votes could be crucial in a close presidential contest. Trump only narrowly lost the state in 2024, after trailing badly in the polls.
The Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where the Republican National Convention was held, July 15-18, 2024. (Joel Pollak / Breitbart News)
In his speech, Trump praised the city, as well as the Green Bay Packers, whose fan base extends throughout the state. He predicted a good year for the Pack, joking that no one else in the arena would be happy to hear it.
And he praised the headgear of the Wisconsin delegation — the cheeseheads, familiar from Wisconsin sports, celebrating the state’s dairy industry.
The city of Milwaukee enjoyed fair weather throughout the week, growing milder and drier as the convention continued, until Thursday — “a perfect Milwaukee day,” a local restaurant manager said.
Police and federal agents patrol the Milwaukee River during the Republican National Convention, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, July 17, 2024. (Joel Pollak / Breitbart News)
Although the city is heavily Democratic, even residents who do not like Trump appeared to enjoy the convention.
One bookstore manager whose storefront windows featured anti-Trump rhetoric spoke to Breitbart News after Usha Vance, the wife of vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance (R-OH), had shopped there for her children — entering through the back, for security reasons.
“She was perfectly nice,” the manager said — Wisconsin nice.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of “”The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days,” available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of “The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency,” now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
