Milwaukee loves Miller Beer. Brewers Baseballand ” Bronze Fonds “Statue.
The deepest blue city Wisconsin: Battleground StateMilwaukee loves Democrats, too.
So that may be hard for some people to accept. Milwaukee will host Next week will see Donald Trump and the Republican National Convention in rival Chicago, a big city just 90 miles south. Welcoming President Joe Biden The Democratic Party joined in August.
It didn’t help ease Democratic wariness in the post-Trump era. Used the word “terrible” We’re talking about Milwaukee just a month before the tournament begins on Monday.
Adding to the anxiety, Milwaukee was scheduled to host the Democratic National Convention in 2020 but didn’t do so due to the coronavirus. Local restaurant, bar and venue owners say promised bookings during the Republican National Convention haven’t materialized, and protesters have complained they have no influence because the city is trying to keep them away from the convention site.
“I wish I’d been out of town for this,” said Jake Schneider, 29, as he walked past the city’s statue of Fonzie, Henry Winkler’s character from “Happy Days,” the 1970s sitcom set in Milwaukee. “I’m not too happy about the Republicans coming to town.”
Schneider, who lives in a downtown apartment, said Trump “sabotaged himself” with his comments about Milwaukee.
“I hope he’s wrong and realizes how great this city is,” Schneider said.
Ryan Clancy, a self-described democratic socialist, state representative and Milwaukee County Councilman, put it more bluntly: “It’s a disgrace that they rolled out the red carpet for the Republican National Convention.”
Still, backers of the Democratic and Republican conventions Point out the potential economic benefits There’s also a chance to showcase Milwaukee and the state of Wisconsin during the convention, which runs through Thursday.
“People are ready to host a convention, make it a success and take Milwaukee to the next level,” said Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson, a Democrat. “No matter where it’s held, Donald Trump is going to be the Republican nominee. So it didn’t matter if it was in Milwaukee. It didn’t matter if it was at Mar-a-Lago.”
Milwaukee has been gaining national attention in recent years, following in the footsteps of the Bucks. Winner at the national championships The city will host an NBA championship in 2021 and this spring will see the airing of the latest season of “Top Chef,” a reality show filmed in Milwaukee and featuring Milwaukee chefs who made it to the finals.
And as Trump’s “horrible” comment illustrates, Milwaukee has also long been a target for conservative Republicans who have pointed to it as an example of poor Democratic leadership.
“We’re hopeful that this convention will showcase all that’s best about Milwaukee,” said Wisconsin Republican Party Chairman Brian Simming, “but our city, like so many other Democrat-run cities, has some very serious problems.”
The Democratic Party chose Milwaukee to host its last convention, but the 2020 Democratic National Convention Online Events Because of the pandemic.
Consecutive elections by Democrats and Republicans The importance of battleground states.
Wisconsin Some battleground states It will likely determine the outcome of this year’s presidential election. Once one of the so-called “blue wall” states Democrats relied on, Trump narrowly won it in 2016, paving the way for his surprise victory. Biden recaptured the state in 2020, and both campaigns have made it a key focus for the state this year.
But Milwaukee is no swing state: 79% of its voters went to Biden in 2020. After his loss that year, Trump tried unsuccessfully to disqualify thousands of Milwaukee voters by falsely claiming that delayed vote counting due to a high number of absentee ballots was fraudulent.
Republicans say holding their convention in Milwaukee will energize their base. While Milwaukee itself is Democratic, its suburbs are a battleground in a swing state that once leaned heavily Republican but has seen Democrats gain since 2016, especially as suburban women have turned away from Trump and conservative policies.
Even before Milwaukee was chosen to host the convention, Clancy and other Democrats had called for the city to be removed from consideration. Nashville is This is because the Democrats opposed accepting the Republicans.
But the biggest uproar so far came when Trump used the word “terrible” to describe Milwaukee during a closed-door meeting with Republican lawmakers in June. Attendees were split on whether Trump was talking about crime, concerns about the election or something else, but he later said, He spoke at a rally in Wisconsin. He said he “loves” Milwaukee, but for some Democrats, that only reaffirmed previous concerns about welcoming Republicans into the city.
Milwaukee-based brewery Mobcraft has released its (Not-So) Horrible City IPA, showcasing the city’s Midwestern sense of humor and love of beer.
As the tournament nears, some local business owners are questioning estimates that the event will bring in $200 million in revenue.
Of six venues the Pabst Theater Group operates in Milwaukee, only one is booked for the week of the convention, said Gary Witt, president and CEO of the group. Witt said the venue stands to lose more than $100,000 by not being used and he worries about the impact the convention will have on other Milwaukee businesses.
“If all these people were gone, we would be nothing to them,” Witt said of the convention attendees.
The demonstrators Spreading counterprogramming They are held throughout the week, but they claim they are too far from the competition site.
Omar Flores, chairman of the Coalition to March on the Republican National Convention, said he was confident the protests would be peaceful and would leverage a national platform. He said the coalition had to fight to secure a route to march within sight and sound of the convention because Milwaukee’s Democratic leaders “totally failed us, totally failed the city and refused to listen to our residents.”
Clancy, a Democratic state representative, said he hopes hosting the convention in the city where he grew up will lift liberal morale.
“We’re hoping that if there’s a certain amount of people in our city who hate us, that will be enough to mobilize people for the primary elections in August and November,” he said.
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