Milwaukee mayor says Trump calling his city 'horrible' could cost him critical swing state

14 June 2024

President Joe Biden only won the state of Wisconsin by less than 21,000 total votes in 2020, and its 10 Electoral College votes played a major role in electing Biden the 46th president of the United States as a state that former President Donald Trump carried in 2016. Now, the mayor of the state's largest city is warning that Trump's disparaging comments about his city may be a major political liability for his 2024 campaign.

During a Friday interview with MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace, Cavalier Johnson — who is the current mayor of Milwaukee, Wisconsin — observed that the former president calling his city "horrible" in a meeting earlier this week with Republicans in Congress may be what costs him not just the city, but the Badger State itself. He added that as the city with the highest concentration of Republican voters in the state, Trump could hurt turnout among his own base as well.

"In a place where tens of thousands of Republicans call home, to say that the place where they live is 'horrible,' I don't think that's a smart political move," Johnson said. "And not just that. The former president is trying to make inroads with the African American community, more Black people live in the City of Milwaukee than any other place in the state of Wisconsin. So this is a very, very diverse city, and elections in this state are decided on a razor's edge."

"To say that Milwaukee is a horrible place — again, Milwaukee matters. Not just in terms of our diversity but our economy, and in elections, statewide too. So I absolutely think that this will play out in November in the presidential race," he added.

Trump and Republicans maintained that his comment wasn't about the city itself, but about violent crime in the city. However, crime data for Milwaukee shows that the city is much safer in 2024 than it's been in recent years. Wisconsin Public Radio reported in April that the homicide rate in Milwaukee is down by 50% in 2024 when compared to 2022 data, and down by 23% compared to data from last year. The number of non-fatal shootings is also lower this year than in either of the past two years.

This jibes with overall urban crime data, according to FBI statistics released earlier this week. The FBI's Uniform Crime Report found that murder rates declined by 26.4% year over year, the rate of sexual assaults declined by 25.7%, robbery rates dropped by nearly 18% and overall violent crime is down by 15.2%.

"This data makes clear that last year’s historic decline in violent crime is continuing,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a public statement. “This continued historic decline in homicides does not represent abstract statistics. It represents people whose lives were saved — people who are still here to see their children grow up, to work toward fulfilling their dreams, and to contribute to their communities.”

The Republican National Convention is set to kick off in Milwaukee in just a matter of weeks. NBC reported that plans are already reported underway to officially nominate Trump, even if he's not there to deliver his nomination speech in person.

Trump's plans to be in Milwaukee could be complicated due to his sentencing in New York, which takes place on July 11 — just four days before the convention begins. Judge Juan Merchan could sentence the former president to as many as 20 years in prison, though he could also impose a less stringent sentence of home confinement or probation. Even in those scenarios, Trump would still have to clear any out-of-state travel with a probation officer or else risk incarceration.

Watch Johnson's interview below, or by clicking this link.

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