President Trump Wisconsin visit; targets border, crime
GREEN BAY, Wis. - Donald Trump rallied in Green Bay on Tuesday, April 2 as voters across Wisconsin cast their ballots for the presidential primary.
The former president addressed supporters for roughly an hour at the KI Convention Center. He said mass deportations, an end to electric vehicle mandates and fair trade are his plans if he wins a return to the White House.
Trump criticized President Joe Biden's handling of the southern border and inflation, and accused the current administration of "election interference" – saying that is why he is being prosecuted in court. That message resonated with voters like Jodi Bauer of Omro.
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"Everything they're doing to him is just because they want to get him out of the election. They want him out completely," she said.
Democrats are not buying it. Ahead of Tuesday's rally, they said a second Trump presidency would hurt Wisconsin families.
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"Donald Trump is running on an extreme and backward platform that would take away personal freedoms, harm the economy and make life harder and more expensive for middle-class families in Wisconsin," said Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson.
Trump also offered a full endorsement to Republican candidate for U.S. Senate Eric Hovde, who is challenging the incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin.
Wisconsin delivered a victory for Trump in 2016, but it helped his demise in 2020. The question now: Will the Badger state deliver for Trump again come November?
Former President Trump visit to Green Bay
On immigration
While violent crime is down, Trump and other Republicans have seized on several high-profile crimes alleged to have been committed by immigrants in the U.S. illegally to attack Biden as border crossings have hit record highs. Polls suggest Trump has an advantage over Biden on issues as many prospective voters say they’re concerned about the impact of the crossings.
Trump accused rogue nations of "pumping migrants across our wide open border," and "sending prisoners, murders, drug dealers, mental patients, terrorists" – though there is no evidence any country is engaged in that kind of coordinated effort. He also claimed that migrants would cost the country trillions of dollars in public benefits and cause Social Security and Medicare to "buckle and collapse."
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On Tuesday, the White House emphasized that immigration is a positive for the U.S. economy. They argued that recent gains in immigration have helped to boost employment and sustained growth as the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates to bring down inflation.
FBI statistics show overall violent crime dropped again in the U.S. last year, continuing a downward trend after a pandemic-era spike.
Biden’s campaign, which has been hammering Trump for his role in killing a bipartisan border deal that would have added more than 1,500 new Customs and Border Protection personnel, in addition to other restrictions, preempted the speech by accusing Trump of politicizing the death.
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President Joe Biden Wisconsin visit to Madison set for April 8
President Joe Biden plans to travel to Madison, Wisconsin on Monday, April 8.
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Biden for President Wisconsin Press Secretary Timothy White
"After many visits to Wisconsin from President Biden, Vice President Harris, and Democratic leaders, Donald Trump finally decided to make time to visit our state in between his busy schedule of hiding out in his country club, calling for cuts to Social Security, and calling into white supremacist radio shows to spew antisemitism. This November, Wisconsin will send him packing just like we did in 2020."
On Tuesday, April 2, The White House announced that President Joe Biden would visit Madison, Wisconsin on Monday, April 8.
Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Ben Wikler
"As Wisconsinites head to the polls today to vote in critical local elections across the state, Donald Trump will at last return to Wisconsin,19 months since his last visit, still spouting lies about his loss in 2020. Almost four years later and Donald Trump is still more focused on the lie that he won in Wisconsin years ago than he is on addressing the challenges Wisconsinites are facing today. Since Trump was last in Wisconsin, President Biden and Vice President Harris have not only shown up, but they’ve delivered for Wisconsin time and again, lowering health care costs, investing in infrastructure, and bringing jobs back to Wisconsin. Donald Trump’s trip to Green Bay today can’t erase the years he spent ignoring Wisconsin—and Wisconsinites haven’t forgotten all the ways he failed our state."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.