Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson is evidently no fan of former President Donald Trump, but Johnson seemed not so much angry as genuinely perplexed that Trump would insult the city of Milwaukee, host of this summer’s Republican National Convention. After all, Wisconsin is expected to be a critical swing state in the 2024 presidential election.
Johnson was referring to reports that Trump, meeting with Republicans on Capitol Hill this week, reportedly called Milwaukee a “horrible city.” To the city’s mayor that comment seemed “bizarre, unhinged.”
Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson responds to Donald Trump reportedly saying Milwaukee is “a horrible city”:
“All of us lived through his presidency, so right back at ya, buddy.” pic.twitter.com/auosTlNbFO
— Heartland Signal (@HeartlandSignal) June 13, 2024
“If Donald Trump wants to talk about things that are horrible, all of us lived through his presidency so right back at you, buddy,” Johnson said, getting his partisan slap in. But then the politician in Johnson started trying to parse Trump’s strategy — what is the advantage of calling the host city horrible?
“Obviously Donald Trump is wrong about something once again,” Johnson said. “I find it kind of perplexing, I find it kind of strange that he would insult the largest city in Wisconsin because he’s running for president. He obviously wants to win Wisconsin, he wants to win the election. I think it’s kind of bizarre actually, kind of unhinged in a way.”
Donald Trump does damage control in Racine, Wisconsin: “I love Milwaukee!” pic.twitter.com/G50Zq1pX5O
— Heartland Signal (@HeartlandSignal) June 18, 2024
In a speech in Racine, Wisconsin, Trump himself blamed “these lying people” for misrepresenting his distaste for Milwaukee. He claimed he loved the city, saying “I was the one that picked it.”
But even in trying to divert the criticism, Trump gave clues about why he’d disparaged Johnson’s city, mentioning crime and casting doubt on the city’s ability to make sure the “election’s fair”– a rhetorical seed Trump plants everywhere so that a potential loss can be viewed as the result of corruption.