Wisconsin Dem hits back at Trump: Milwaukee crime rate will go up with his ’34 felony counts’

After a report that former President Trump called Milwaukee, which will host the Republican National Convention next month, a “horrible city,” Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Wis.) said the city’s “crime rate is going to go up” when Trump and his “34 felony counts” arrive in the city. 

“I don’t know many people in Milwaukee who have 34 felony counts against them. So our crime rate sure is going to go up when he joins us in Milwaukee in July,” Moore — whose district includes Milwaukee — said during a Thursday interview with Lawrence O’Donnell on MSNBC.

Earlier in the day, Punchbowl News reported Trump called Milwaukee a horrible city during his meeting with Congressional Republicans. Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung hit back against the report and said Trump was talking about crime and election issues in the city. 

“Once he’s settled in with his parole officer, I am certain he will discover that Milwaukee is a wonderful, vibrant and welcoming city full of diverse neighborhoods and a thriving business community,” Moore added in a post on the social platform X.

Democrats are now putting up 10 billboards across the city featuring Trump’s comment. 

Democrats in the state have taken to the internet to mock Trump’s comment, with Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) saying on X, “Add it to the list of things Donald Trump is wrong about,” with a clown emoji. 

Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson and Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley also posted, “Milwaukee is a terrific city. Pass it on.” State Democrats, including Evers, have picked up on this trend and are also sending out similar social media posts. 

“All of us lived through his presidency, so right back at ya, buddy,” Johnson added while speaking to the press in Milwaukee about Trump.

Wisconsin congressional Republicans attempted to explain what was said, while Rep. Bryan Steil (R-Wis.) posted that Trump did not make any such comment. 

However, Steil later contradicted himself, saying Trump was talking about specific issues in the city and not the city itself. Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-Wis.) said Trump was referring to election integrity and not crime. GOP Reps. Glenn Grothman (Wis.) and Scott Fitzgerald (Wis.) also said Trump was concerned about elections in the city. 

Moore called out the Republican Wisconsin lawmakers for “making excuses for [Trump] rather than recognizing that he is the one that is horrible, not our great city,” Moore added during the MSNBC interview.

“We have five Republicans from Wisconsin in Congress and all five seem to be telling a different story about what Trump said,” Joe Oslund, communications director for the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, wrote in a statement. “Instead of sticking up for Milwaukee and our state, Bryan Steil, Derrick Van Orden, Glenn Grothman, and Tom Tiffany embarrassed themselves with excuses and outright lies. 

“We know what Donald Trump thinks and we know what Donald Trump said: Milwaukee is a ‘horrible city,’ and no amount of lame Republican spin will change that,” he added. 

Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) also weighed in, writing on X that Trump “could not be more wrong” and that “the people of Milwaukee will remind him this November.”

“Donald Trump attacking the great city of Milwaukee as a ‘horrible city’ exactly one month before he shuffles out on stage at Fiserv reflects the backward, twisted man Donald Trump has always been,” said Wisconsin Democratic Party Vice Chair Felesia Martin, who is also sits on Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors, in a statement.