Trump campaigns in deep blue Dane County, Milwaukee
MADISON, Wis. (CBS 58) -- Former President Donald Trump made a rare visit to deep blue Dane County and Milwaukee as the campaign seeks to build momentum for Republicans in areas that heavily favor Democrats.
Trump made two stops in the battleground state just hours before the vice-presidential debate. The first was held at Dane Manufacturing in Waunakee, about 30 minutes from downtown Madison. From there, the former president traveled to Milwaukee to speak at Discovery World.
During his remarks in Waunakee, Trump criticized his opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, on immigration, the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, and the economy.
"Kamala's plan will kill the American dream and make inflation worse than it ever was," Trump said. "My plan will bring back the American dream, but bigger, better and stronger."
He also urged supporters to vote before Election Day and "do it anyway you want," with absentee voting underway in the state.
"Go as soon as you can, and get out there," Trump said. "Do it anyway you want… just make sure your vote is counted. We are leaving nothing to chance and everything on the field."
The 80-minute speech struck a similar tone to a rally held in Prairie Du Chien over the weekend, with Trump blaming Harris for migrant crime and calling her "incompetent."
Trump also again zeroed in on the recent arrest of Alejandro Jose Coronel Zarate, who Prairie du Chien police say has ties to a Venezuelan gang. Police charged him with sexual assault, child abuse, strangulation and domestic abuse.
On behalf of the Harris campaign, Democratic Gov. Tony Evers slammed Trump's visit by contrasting the two candidates.
"I know Wisconsin families, and they’re going to reject [Trump] again in November," Evers said. "Vice President Harris is the only candidate in this race fighting to lower costs, cut taxes, and invest in Wisconsin’s future.”
Why Dane County?
The former president's visit to Dane County marked the first time in nearly three decades a Republican presidential candidate visited the region. In 1996, GOP presidential nominee Bob Dole campaigned in Madison.
It comes after Wisconsin Republicans stressed to the Trump campaign the importance of trying to reduce Democratic margins in Dane County this fall.
Former Gov. Tommy Thompson said he spoke to Trump recently and encouraged him to not ignore the county that's home to the third-most Republican voters in the state.
"You have to go where the votes are," Thompson said. "You have to go where the opposition is, and you have to come into Dane County."
Thompson added, "We're going to win, and Democrats get the hell out of our way, we are coming!"
Trump Campaigns in Milwaukee
After his remarks in Waunakee, Mr. Trump spoke in a news conference setting in Milwaukee. He spoke for nearly an hour before taking questions from reporters.
While his campaign billed the speech as one touting the expansion of school choice, which provides taxpayer funding for students attending charter and private voucher schools, Mr. Trump spent little time on the subject.
When the former president addressed schools in his remarks, he decried the status of public education in Milwaukee.
"In Milwaukee, which has been run by Democrats for over half a century, it's incredible, families are faced with one of the worst public school systems in the entire country -- considered pretty much the worst," Mr. Trump said. "But there are some others that are right there with you, I guarantee you that."
Data from the 2022 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) standardized test shows Milwaukee had the fourth-worst testing scores out of 26 participating large urban districts.
Milwaukee is home to the nation's first choice voucher program, which launched in 1990. A report from the nonpartisan Wisconsin Policy Forum earlier this year found Milwaukee's education outcomes have not changed much in the 34 years since, particularly for Black students.
Mr. Trump said if he were to return to the White House, he'd reduce the U.S. Department of Education to just a two-person agency.
"We'll have one person plus [the] secretary," he said. "And all the person has to do is, 'Are you teaching English? Are you teaching arithmetic?' What are you doing? Reading, writing and arithmetic, and are you not teaching woke? Not teaching woke is a very big factor."
While Mr. Trump is making a push to win back some voters in Wisconsin's two most populous counties, he tried to throw out more than 200,000 absentee ballots in Milwaukee and Dane counties as part of a Hail Mary lawsuit in 2020.
The lawsuit was unsuccessful, and when asked about it Tuesday, Mr. Trump said he did not believe it would affect his standing with voters -- including some who supported him -- whose votes his campaign sought to have discarded.
"I think they generally agreed with me. My voters generally agreed with me," he said. "And I think we have a really good chance of winning in other counties that, normally, a Republican wouldn't win."
Mr. Trump said during his remarks he planned to make at least two more stops in Wisconsin before Election Day. One will be in Green Bay, and the other will be in Milwaukee at Fiserv Forum, which Mr. Trump called "beautiful" in reference to it hosting the Republican National Convention this summer.
The former president did not specify when those visits would occur but said the Green Bay stop would happen "the day before" a Packers game.
In the afternoon, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff also campaigned in Milwaukee for Vice President Harris and her plans for an "opportunity economy," according to the campaign.