Trump’s Milwaukee rally kicks off election year in Wisconsin
MILWAUKEE — President Donald Trump heads to battleground Wisconsin on Tuesday to rally supporters just down the street from where Democrats will meet in six months to nominate his opponent, a campaign trip that coincides with the Democratic presidential debate in neighbouring Iowa.
Counter-protests and other related events organized by both Democrats and the Trump administration were planned in Milwaukee ahead of the rally at an arena in the heart of downtown. In July, Democrats are holding their national convention nearby.
It will be the Republican president’s first appearance in Wisconsin since July. He scheduled the rally for roughly the same time as a Democratic candidate debate about 375 miles to the west in Des Moines, a counter to the last time candidates will square off before Iowa’s Feb. 3 caucuses. That marks the beginning of voting by Democrats to select Trump’s challenger. Wisconsin’s primary is April 7.
Winning back Wisconsin is a key part of Democrats’ strategy, which fed into their decision to pick Milwaukee to host the national convention. Trump, who won the state by fewer than 23,000 votes in 2016, knows its importance as well and is expected to make frequent visits in the coming months. Wisconsin is part of the “blue wall” of states, in addition to Michigan and Pennsylvania, that Trump carried in 2016 but that Democrats feel they can win back.