Wisconsin Republicans jumped to defend former President Donald Trump after he reportedly called Milwaukee, host of next month’s Republican National Convention, a “horrible city.”
While in a closed-door meeting with House Republicans Thursday, Punchbowl News reported, Mr. Trump told the room that “Milwaukee, where we are having our convention, is a horrible city.”
Rep. Bryan Steil said the claim wasn’t true.
“I was in the room. President Trump did not say this. There is no better place than Wisconsin in July,” the Wisconsin Republican wrote on X.
Rep. Derrick Van Orden claimed Mr. Trump wasn’t referring to the city in his comment, but instead to the city’s crime rate, and attached a report saying the city ranked third for violent crimes nationwide.
“Another classic example of s——- reporting by a Democratic Party shill pretending to be a journalist,” Mr. Van Orden, Wisconsin Republican, wrote on X. “Lies busy [sic] omission. @realDonaldTrump was specifically referring to the crime, the CRIME RATE in Milwaukee.”
Trump spokesman Steven Cheung railed against the claim and said the comment was referring to the city’s crime rate.
“Wrong. Total b———-. He never said it like how it’s been falsely characterized as. He was talking about how terrible crime and voter fraud are,” Mr. Cheung wrote on X.
The Trump campaign website aimed to debunk what it called the “Milwaukee’ hoax.”
“In a desperate attempt to get likes, Fake News [reporter] Jake Sherman —who wasn’t even in the room — falsely claimed that President Trump called Milwaukee a ’horrible city.’ It’s a total lie,” the release said. “President Trump was explicitly referring to the problems in Milwaukee, specifically violent crime and voter fraud.”
The comment grabbed the attention of Democrats as well, who jumped to defend the city.
Rep. Gwen Moore, Wisconsin Democrat, knocked Mr. Trump on his criminal record in her X post.
“Once he’s settled in with his parole officer, I am certain he will discover that Milwaukee is a wonderful, vibrant and welcoming city full of diverse neighborhoods and a thriving business community,” she said.
Milwaukee County Executive David C. Crowley said Mr. Trump’s comment “is wrong” and posted screenshots of various reports praising Milwaukee.
“This guy is wrong. Milwaukee is a world-class city,” Mr. Crowley, a Democrat, wrote on X. “Don’t believe me? Listen to the experts.”
President Biden chimed in on his personal X account, and posted a photo with Milwaukee Bucks basketball players when he honored the NBA champions at the White House in 2021.
“I happen to love Milwaukee,” the post by the president said.
The RNC is scheduled for July 15-18 at the Fiserv Forum.
• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.