Trump rallies supporters in Green Bay, here are the main takeaways
GREEN BAY, Wis. (CBS 58) -- Former President Donald Trump made his return to Wisconsin and continued to put the U.S. Mexico border at the forefront of his campaign during a rally in Green Bay.
Trump ramped up his attacks against President Joe Biden's handling of the U.S.-Mexico border by accusing him of creating a "bloodbath" that is "destroying the county." The reference comes as illegal border crossing is hitting new highs.
"There's never been a border so bad," Trump told supporters at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in downtown Green Bay. "People coming in at levels nobody's ever seen. The people, criminals, just pouring into our country. We have no idea who they are."
Biden's campaign has been highly critical of Trump for playing a role in killing a bipartisan border deal in Congress that would have added more than 1,500 workers to help with the surge of migrants Customs and Border Protection are dealing with.
Trump Criticizes Absentee Voting
Speaking to voters just hours before polls closed, Trump also called for election integrity measures while repeating falsehoods about 2020, including claiming he won the state four years ago.
"You know we won this state. We won this state by a lot," Trump said.
His remarks come on the same day of Wisconsin's presidential primary where both Trump and Biden cruised to victory for their respective parties.
Trump also blasted absentee voting hours and again called out Milwaukee for "ballot dumps" during the 2020 election when officials reported the results around 3 a.m. to process a surge of absentee ballots during Covid.
The late-night tallies resulted in giving Biden a boost in the Democratic stronghold city that helped carry him to a nearly 21,000-vote victory over Trump. There was no evidence of widespread voter fraud that occurred after multiple lawsuits, recounts, and reviews.
It comes after Brian Schimming, chairman of the Republican Party of Wisconsin, and Sen. Ron Johnson, both told the crowd earlier to embrace early voting.
"We can't afford to have a miserable Election Day in November and not have our votes already banked," Johnson said. "Embrace early voting. We have to do that."
Before his speech, Schimming told reporters it "doesn't give him a lot of heartburn" that Trump has criticized absentee voting and said he's speaking to the Trump campaign about the benefits of voting days before an election.
U.S. Senate Endorsement
Republican U.S. Senate candidate Eric Hovde received Trump's "complete and total endorsement" during the rally.
Hovde, a multimillionaire businessman, launched a bid to unseat two-term Sen. Tammy Baldwin in a critical race for control of the upper chamber.
Hovde called his opponent a rubber stamp for the progressive left.
"Are you ready to clean the swamp out? I sure know I am," Hovde said.
Democrats Respond to Visit
During a press conference in Green Bay, Democrats slammed Trump's visit before he took to the stage and called him out for election denialism.
"Donald Trump doesn't care about Wisconsin," said Sara Godlewski, secretary of state of Wisconsin. "Just yesterday, Donald Trump was on a radio station talking about how the 2020 election was a hoax."
Trump's stop comes as his campaign has yet to air ads in the state and build a field operation ahead of Milwaukee hosting the Republican National Convention this July. The campaign said they'll be opening dozens of offices and hiring volunteers in the next month or so.
It also follows new finance reports that show the Republican Party of Wisconsin has been dramatically outspent by Democrats who have won the last 14 out of 17 statewide elections. According to state and federal records, the Republican Party raised more than $863,000 from January - March this year.
That's in comparison to the nearly $9.6 million the Democratic Party raised during the same time.