EXCLUSIVE — The Democratic National Committee is trying not to let Wisconsin forget what former President Donald Trump reportedly said about Milwaukee with a billboard that also criticizes Trump for his economic record.
Days after Trump allegedly described Milwaukee, the host of next month’s Republican National Convention, as “horrible” during a closed-door meeting with House Republicans on Capitol Hill, the DNC has paid for a billboard along I-94 in Racine County. Trump, who has denied calling Milwaukee “horrible,” will be in southwest Wisconsin on Tuesday for a rally to underscore Biden’s “failed presidency,” according to his campaign.
“Want to know what’s really ‘horrible’? Donald Trump for Wisconsin’s Economy,” the billboard reads, according to a preview provided to the Washington Examiner.
DNC spokeswoman Addy Toevs contended Trump’s “contempt” for Wisconsin, a must-win battleground state for President Joe Biden this November, is “well-known.” Trump won Wisconsin in 2016 by less than a percentage point before Biden won it in 2020 by about the same margin. In 2024, Trump has an average polling edge of 0.1 over Biden, according to RealClearPolitics.
“Trump doesn’t know — or care — about working Wiscosinites’ experiences, and he will jeopardize jobs that put food on the dinner table by incentivizing companies to send jobs overseas,” Toevs told the Washington Examiner. “There is just one candidate on the ballot fighting for good jobs for Wisconsin families: Joe Biden.”
“President Biden is fighting for Wisconsinites, but Donald Trump will leave them behind all over again,” she said.
That is a reference to Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Foxconn’s proposal to produce flat-screen TV display panels in Racine County. The project, which was supposed to be completed by the end of 2020 and employ 13,000 people, encountered challenges after more than $500 million in taxpayer dollars were spent preparing the site, including the destruction of homes and farms.
Biden had used Foxconn to criticize Trump’s economic policies since 2020, travelling to the site as recently as May to announce Microsoft would be building an artificial intelligence datacenter there instead, in addition to partnering with Gateway Technical College to develop a datacenter academy, along with other innovation labs and accelerator initiatives.
Foxconn has defended its decisions regarding Wisconsin, citing “market demand” and its data server manufacturing site that employs more than 1,000 people. It says it is one of Racine County’s largest taxpayers and to have invested approximately $1 billion in the state.
Meanwhile, Trump has emphasized that his pre-pandemic economy was among the “strongest… in the world,” telling Business Roundtable’s Quarterly Meeting in Washington, D.C. last week that he “created more than 1.2 million manufacturing and construction jobs” during his administration.
“Bidenomics has created suffering for families in Wisconsin, as prices soar nearly 20% since Biden took office,” the Trump campaign said. “Inflation has cost the average Wisconsin family more than $22,933 over the last four years. Gas prices in Wisconsin have increased by over $1 per gallon under weak Joe Biden.”
The Trump campaign has dismissed reports the former president described Milwaukee as “a horrible city,” adamant he meant problems experienced by the population center, “specifically violent crime and voter fraud.”
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“President Donald Trump loves the people of Wisconsin,” the campaign added. “President Trump will ease the financial pressures placed on households and re-establish law and order in Wisconsin! We can Make America Great Again by tackling lawlessness head-on, ceasing the endless flow of illegal immigrants across our southern border, and reversing the detrimental effects inflation by restoring people’s wealth.”
