Milwaukee RNC cookies; bakery receives backlash

MILWAUKEE - It's "cookie-gate" for one Milwaukee bakery.

National Bakery & Deli recently received online backlash after announcing they're making sweets for the 2024 Republican National Convention.

For nearly a century, National Bakery & Deli has aimed to satisfy the sweet tooth.

One of the bakery's biggest sellers is its selection of cookies. Co-owner Jeff Callen said they make them for any and all occasions.

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"We’ve got a lot of our summer cookies too, with the watermelon, the different kinds of things, the ice cream cones," Callen said.

One occasion includes one of Milwaukee’s biggest conventions: the RNC.

"They asked us to do some cookies, sample cookies, so we came up with some cookies for the RNC," Callen said. "It kind of blew up, I mean it went kind of viral."

They got both praise and backlash.

"Everything from they’re never going to stop in here again to ‘Yes, finally you got some good cookies like that for the RNC,’" he said.

After the loud reaction to them making cookies for the RNC, those with National Bakery & Deli said "hey, we also have these."

They’re also making cookies for the 2024 Democratic National Convention.

"We’re offering both sides of it," Callen said. "We’re not political in any of this."

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Politics aside, Callen said this isn’t new for them. In fact, it’s become somewhat of a tradition.

"Four years ago, we did the same thing," Callen said. "We had the different Trump and Biden cookies. Democratic and Republican, and it didn’t seem to be quite as divisive as these ones now."

Callen said despite the reactions, they've had a ton of orders coming in on both sides, saying no matter at the end of the day, these are just cookies.

"That’s the way the cookie crumbles," he said.

He also noted they are still accepting orders for both RNC and DNC-themed cookies.