Wisconsin original production. 2024 election coverage.
>> Madam Secretary, the great state of Wisconsin proudly casts
all of its 41 votes for Donald J. Trump.
>> The Republican National Convention is a wrap. I'm
Frederica Freyberg. Tonight we bring all the local coverage of
the event that put Milwaukee on the national stage. It's "Here&
Now" for July 19th. >> Funding for here and Now is
provided by the Focus Fund for Journalism and Friends of PBS.
Wisconsin. important battleground state in
the presidential election, with both campaigns saying the other
can't win if they don't win Wisconsin. That put even more
emphasis on the city of Milwaukee hosting the Republican
National Convention "Here& Now" Senior political reporter Zach
Schultz was on the ground all week and kicks off our coverage
tonight. >> The culmination of every
convention is Thursday night, when the nominee takes the stage
and basks in the adoration of the party faithful.
>> Thank you very much. >> In some ways, the defining
moment of the 2024 Republican National Convention didn't come
in the host city of Milwaukee. It occurred in Butler,
Pennsylvania, last Saturday when a 20 year old with a gun nearly
took Donald Trump's life. By the time Trump took the stage
Thursday night, his supporters had already declared the near
miss as a sign of divine intervention.
the life of our presidents, Donald J.
>> Trump and Trump agreed. >> I felt very safe because I
had God on my side. I felt that the first question of the week
was whether it was even safe to come to the convention.
>> These ladies from Eagle River had to decide if the violence
would continue in Milwaukee for a split second.
>> I mean, you have to you have to you need to be prudent to
reflect, but it's really more about now, I know the police and
security and homeland security and everything will probably
even step up even more. >> I think it's the right move.
>> UW lacrosse Professor Kristina LaPlant saw the
shooting on TV and canceled a trip with her students, who
planned to survey delegates for a class on political parties.
>> Immediately, my mind starts thinking about what on earth is
going to happen at the convention now, and I'm
immediately thinking about my safety, my students safety. Is
the political violence going to escalate at the RNC?
>> Monday morning, the message from Republicans was one of
unity. above their behavior and realize
that it is our task to save and preserve this nation.
>> But later that evening, on the main stage, Johnson was back
to calling Democrats a threat to the nation.
danger to America, and the unity referred to the Republican Party
unifying around Trump. >> We have the greatest
opportunity I have ever seen for a Republican victory.
>> Democrats hope to tie Donald Trump to a policy plan called
project 2025, a 900 page document created by the Heritage
Foundation that creates a plan to give Trump unprecedented
executive powers to remake the federal government. But there
was no mention of the plan at Heritage's Policy Fest event,
and Trump surrogate Vivek Ramaswamy refused to talk about
project 2025, instead hinting that if Trump had been killed,
it would have led to a second civil war. But I think the
nation came within a hair's breadth of.
>> God forbid, a second kind of civil war in this country. And
we missed it. >> He wasn't the only one
talking that way. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich told the
Wisconsin delegation the same thing.
falling apart as a country and potentially drifting towards a
civil war. turn down the rhetoric.
>> I don't see our country on a pathway to a civil war, and we
need to just continue to have that dialog to listen and
exercise our voice at the ballot box.
>> Trump's speech was supposed to focus on unity.
>> We unite this evening, more determined than ever.
>> But there were times when the teleprompter didn't move as
Trump went off script and returned to his favorite topics
crazy Nancy Pelosi, the whole thing just boom, boom, boom. He
did find time to pander to the home state.
>> And by the way, Wisconsin. We are spending over $250 million
here creating jobs and other economic development all over
the place. So I hope you will remember this in November and
give us your vote. I am trying to buy your vote.
>> As the speech stretched out to the longest in convention
history, those who started off shouting fight were now sitting
quietly looking at their phones. But eventually the speech
wrapped up and quite simply put, we will very quickly make
America great again. The balloons dropped and the 2024
Republican National Convention came to an end.
>> The state Republican Party is riding high after the big event
in Milwaukee. Its chairman, Brian Schimming, is here, and
you do look like a pretty happy guy. A little exhausted.
>> Yeah, I'm a little exhausted. But I have to tell you, I'm so
proud of Milwaukee. I'm so proud of the state of Wisconsin, we
were able to pull off an excellent, four day convention.
Right here in Wisconsin. And as you know, Fred, I'm a native
here. I'm a homer. So I wanted this to be good for the state,
for the city of Milwaukee. And it was the security
considerations were they were just security was great. The
cooperation between the city and the county, and of course, all
the law enforcement agencies, the chamber, the visitor's
bureau, just fabulous. So I'm just so excited. And I had
people after the RNC meeting this morning from other states,
big, you know, convention states like Chicago and LA and Atlanta,
whatever, coming up and saying this was the best convention
they'd ever been to. So I'm so proud of Wisconsin this morning.
>> Yeah, super high praise. So a month ago, could you ever have
foreseen everything that has happened in this race for
president? conference yesterday that
they'll be writing books, not about the campaign, but the last
three weeks, you know, alone, much less the whole campaign, of
course, the tragedy of the shooting in Pennsylvania, which
which really pulls at you, you know, I mean, you have people
that were there to support a candidate. It's not a partisan
thing. It's people who came out to this rally. So the tragedy of
that rally and then, also obviously the debate were within
90 minutes a, a political party, my friendly adversaries on the
other side, the Democrats and their candidate completely
collapsed within 90 minutes. I'm not sure I can think of a
parallel to this, in recent history. Anyway so the
Democratic Party and Joe Biden went from the kind of confidence
that Joe Biden would be the candidate to the calamity of
that debate, to the crisis they now sit in all within a couple
of weeks. I honestly, I can't think of another time in recent
history where so much was packed into so little time, and then to
top it off, for us, having a successful, convention, I think
by any account, it's really, it's will be talking about it
for years. Wisconsin congressman, Democrat
it's time to pass the torch? >> Well, what I would say to my
friend Mark Pocan is, where have you been, I think the truth of
the matter is, my adversaries on the other side of the aisle have
known all of this about Joe Biden for a very, very long tim.
And, he's incapable of being their candidate's candidate.
capable of being president right now. And I don't make that, I
have relatives of my family who have memory and other issues, so
I don't make that charge lightl, I think you have an incapable
candidate and an incapable president. Right now. And the
dilemma that that the Democrats find themselves in here is that
we're in July of the election year. We're not in July of last
year. We're in July of this yea. And the challenge that they face
right now is we walk out of this convention unified and they're
spending the weekend not knowing what they're going to do next.
Historically, it's an amazing moment.
reaction to, say, Vice President Kamala Harris at the top of the
ticket? >> Right. So I have been saying
about the vice presidential potential vice presidential
That, if people see me walking down the streets of Wisconsin
with a folding table, it's because I'm going to sell
tickets to that debate. And so I think that would be the same
case, no matter where she is on the ticket. So here's the
Democrats dilemma. They have a four year president who, you
know, won every primary. And caucus, is a sitting four year
incumbent. Where now now well over 70% of the people say he
shouldn't be running. The difficulty is, is vice president
Harris's numbers are very, very similar. So they don't really
get some huge advantage. Bryan chairman, we leave it there.
>> Thanks so much for your time. >> Thanks for having me.
>> With so many people coming into Milwaukee and opening their
wallets through the week, there was an expectation for a $200
million economic boost to the city. But as Stephen Potter
reports, while some businesses made out, others fell flat.
>> For some, the restaurant business this week in Milwaukee
has been booming from the minute we open our doors yesterday, all
the way through, we have been slammed busy. We have been
packed full for Marla Poytinger from the new fashioned bar and
restaurant, which is right across from the Fiserv Forum.
The increase in traffic from the Republican National Convention
has more than exceeded expectations.
about the equivalent of one Bucs game every day this week, which
would have been fantastic four days in a row. Yesterday alone,
we did five Bucs games. >> But for others who are
further away from the convention activity, business has been
significantly different and hearing people haven't been
coming down. not getting enough business.
>> It seems like there are just so many events going on, just
we're also kind of on the outskirts of the where
everything's taking place. So, I mean, people sometimes seems
like they're forgetting, like the little local local spots we
had, like, you know, extra staff on, on ready standby, but we've
actually called off, a few few people here and there just
because numbers have not been what we expected in the months
preceding the convention, there was a lot of talk and excitement
about a substantial financial bump coming from the infusion of
the 50,000 convention attendees. >> I think originally, the
thought was it would be a $200 million in economic impact.
>> Omar Shaikh of the high end steakhouse carnivore says
business at his restaurant has been slower than he'd like.
>> Yesterday we were decent, not crazy by any means, not really
overly busy. >> Normally, Shaikh says,
conventions that come to town for company meetings and
trainings are busy, but the Republican National Convention
>> There aren't restricted areas and security and things of this
nature. So I would say this is political conventions are
certainly different, Shaikh says he's also talked to some
restaurant owners who decided not to open at all during the
week of the convention, and they said, well, look, I don't really
have a lot of reservations on the books. So if I don't have
business, if I order a lot of the product, you know, it's
perishable, right? And they don't do business and they
actually lose money. >> One person keeping a close
eye on the economic impact of the RNC is Dale Kooyenga. He's
the president of the Metropolitan Milwaukee
Association of Commerce, the Milwaukee brand is known and
it's things like this. >> It's like the box, the
Brewers events like this where you could go around the world
and people say, oh, I know Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
>> As for the lack of business, some spots are seeing during the
convention, Kooyenga says, you can't just look at your four
days. >> You have to look at the
longer impact of tourism in Milwaukee.
more of an economic impact from the RNC, but he also understands
it's a long game. >> The greater hope is like
that. Everyone that came here from around the world and around
the country to say, this is an incredible city. I want to
return to that city. I want to go back to that restaurant. I
that hotel, and hopefully that a lot of people and a lot of
organizations will see how great of a city it is that they'll
book large scale conventions here with us.
>> Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson welcomed tens of
thousands of Republican faithful to his Democratic city. Did it
pay off? He joins us now. And mayor, thanks very much for
being here. >> Happy to see you.
>> So we reported on the economic impact of the
convention. Did it meet your expectations?
>> Well, as I mentioned, we're not, you know, in control of
economic projections for the convention. What I can tell you
is that there were a lot of people, tens of thousands that
came to Milwaukee, that stayed at our hotels, that ventured
into restaurants, that spent money with local vendors and
left a significant amount of money here in our economy. We'll
have to go back and check in with Visit Milwaukee and those
other folks to see exactly what the economic impact was. I,
anticipate that it was pretty, hefty, though, after Donald
Trump called Milwaukee a horrible city.
influence on convention goers, on the convention goers?
>> No, I mean, these are folks that were coming from you know,
far across the country. I don't know if they paid attention to
his comments, like we paid attention to them here. That's,
you know, unfortunately, because Donald Trump, Mr. Trump
unfortunately, has a history of saying these wild, outlandish
things, and so people tend to not really pay them much
attention, although they should. Because sometimes some of the
things that he says, can have a detrimental impact on
individuals rights, on the direction of the country, and so
forth. So things can be outlandish, but that doesn't
mean they're not important for us to listen to. We certainly
listened when he said that Milwaukee was a horrible city.
>> So following the rally attack, kind of going back
specific to the convention itself, following the attempted
assassination of Donald Trump, how tense were security
considerations in your city now that it's wound up? And maybe we
can talk about it a little more? >> Well, first let me just say
that, that attempt, that assassination attempt on Mr.
Trump was terrible. That was actually horrible. That should
never happen. That is just there's no place for that sort
of action in our politics at all whatsoever. And after it
happened, I did have the opportunity to wish, Mr. Trump,
very well in his recovery, had the chance to speak to him and
told him the same thing. So, in terms of, individuals being here
in Milwaukee, and having the chance to follow up, after that,
that incident, with security here, we took the opportunity to
make sure that the city was saf, and we had an nSac that was a
designation here. It's a national special security event
designation you could possibly get for an event of this
magnitude. So by definition, it was a secure event, then what
the rally was that Mr. Trump held last week, Saturday.
>> So there were definitely concerns, though. And criticisms
of so many out of state police officers in the city and on the
streets, including those from Ohio, who, as you know, shot and
killed a man outside the perimeter. What is your response
to that shooting? >> Well, as it relates to, the
number of officers who were here from out of state, I mean, look,
Milwaukee, won the Democratic National Convention in 2020, and
now, unfortunately, it didn't pan out because of the Covid 19
pandemic. But, had it actually taken place the way that we had
envisioned, you would have seen the same sort of security
footprint with officers coming in from outside the state of
Wisconsin, and in from across the country, in terms of, the
officers from the outside, Milwaukee police would not have
been able to make sure the convention was secure all by
themselves. And still provide policing services to the balance
of the city. So there was a need to bring in officers from the
outside. This was a collaboration not just with
Milwaukee police, but with secret Service and law
enforcement agencies from across the country. And I'm thankful
for their assistance, there was tragic that, that there was an
incident that happened where a man was killed, outside of the
security perimeter, the officers from Columbus, Ohio, they were
they're not in a patrolling, front facing mode. They were
actually doing a briefing, a debrief, and one of the officers
happened to notice that there was an altercation. Taking
place, notice that one of the individuals had a knife, later
on, we would find that there were two knives, officers
approached the individual, made numerous commands to drop the
weapons, to drop the weapons. That didn't happen. Instead, the
individual lunged in a threatening manner at an unarmed
man, and, you know, and possibly could have caused him serious
bodily harm or death. And the and the officers took action.
And I'm saddened that, life was lost, there. But I'm also,
thinking about the individual who possibly could have lost his
life. And what's more is that when I talk to officers,
including officers at the local level here, I'm told that any
officer in that situation would have taken the exact same action
in order to make sure they preserved the life of the
unarmed person who was, being attacked.
>> All right, we leave it there, Mayor Cavalier Johnson, thanks
very much. Thank you. Community advocates say the city should be
held accountable in the fatal shooting of a man who had been
living in a tent less than a mile from the security perimeter
during the RNC. The Columbus, Ohio, Police Department released
body cam footage of its officers shooting and killing Samuel
Sharpe as he wielded a knife in an apparent street fight. Stop!
Drop the knife. >> Drop the knife. Drop the
knife! Please drop your knife. Drop. Drop the knife now! Drop
it now! >> But why? We're out of state
police patrolling city neighborhoods beyond the
Black Leaders Organizing for communities calls Sharp's death
devastating. Angela, thanks very much for being here.
>> Thanks for having me. >> So you blame the RNC for the
death of Samuel Sharpe? Why >> I do, I, I fully believe that
had the RNC not been hosted in Milwaukee, we wouldn't have even
had those out of state police even over there. And I think
there is calls and questions of why they were over there in the
first place. And I've seen, accounts from friends and family
members that all have said that if this was a local police
officer, it probably would not have resulted in his death
because they knew him, and they would be more trained in
de-escalation. as to the question as to why
those officers were there? >> I have not, I did see some
commentary from law enforcement trying to explain, why they were
out there. And I know that there was a response that on the last
day of the RNC, if there were out of state cops patrolling
some of those areas, they would be accompanied with the
Milwaukee Police Department officer, which doesn't quite
answer the question. And I don't think actually really solved or
got to the heart of the issues. >> Just ahead of the convention,
there were sweeps downtown of unsheltered people. How did that
play into this? >> Yeah, I mean, I think with
any convention, and we had similar concerns if we were to
host the DNC about unhoused folks and the additional
security. And when you have a large convention or a large
event like this, a lot of folks, they want to beautify, their
city and make it look as attractive as possible. And so a
lot of folks were told, I believe, by last week, Saturday,
that they had to find a different place to go. Folks
have said that law enforcement did provide resources, but
there's only so many shelters and so many beds that I can
imagine it push folks to go to other areas, away from maybe
where they typically were before the convention.
betrayed by the mayor for, quote, rolling out the red
carpet for people who hate us. How about now, after the
convention, I'm even more betrayed and saddened, that this
is actually what happened in our city.
warnings, from community members and residents that said we did
not want this hateful language. And this hateful party, but have
also been saying about the increase in law enforcement
would have been a concern. And it goes to show what happens
when you don't actually listen to community members and
actually listen to our concerns, because unfortunately, now we're
having to deal with this tragedy and losing a Milwaukee community
member in a city that Donald Trump called horrible.
on Milwaukee helped show it in a different light?
>> You know, I'm not sure, you know, we've we've seen reports
and commentary that some of the folks weren't, you know,
necessarily seeing some of the great, amazing places of
Milwaukee. There are restaurants, beloved restaurants
and didn't have as many reservations. So I'm curious of
how much the participants actually saw of Milwaukee, I
hope that they left with a different perspective, but I
will say that even tweeting about the shooting that happened
and seeing some of the comments in my mentions, I'm not sure if
people, have any sympathy for Milwaukee. And I think some
folks still consider it a place of murder and crime in these
terrible stereotypes and statistics.
know about the City of Milwauke? >> Well, I want people to know
that Milwaukee is an incredibly beautiful and special place. And
I say this as a lifelong resident by choice, I chose to
live here and to work here. One of my favorite things is the
summer, but also the people and the resilience. And that in the
face of tragedy, we always find a way to center joy and come
together and find a way to make things work, even under really
tremendous circumstances. >> Angela Lang, thanks very much
for joining us. >> Thanks for having me.
>> Security was always planned to be tight around the
convention and the assassination attempt on the eve of it only
heightened awareness for the thousands of law enforcement
from across the state and nation assigned to the city. Planned
protests added to the mix "Here& Now" Stephen Potter has this
report about the white man. >> We got to do one, got to
fight back. We got to do what? We got to fight back.
>> I came to here loudly and proudly oppose the racist and
bigoted agenda of the Republican Party.
>> With thousands of delegates, attendees and guests arriving
for the first day of the convention. USA protesters also
showed up in Milwaukee to denounce the Republican Party
and its policies. >> We're being led down a
dangerous path with the Republican Party. I'm concerned.
I'm nervous. I'm a I'm a 20 year Army veteran, and I consider the
direction that the our Republican Party is going and,
and particularly their nominee, Trump. Is super dangerous. And I
and I consider him a bit of a traitor. You know, he's out for
himself. He's not out for the citizens. And that's what we
need. >> As you can see, there are
hundreds, even thousands of protesters here at the
Republican National Convention. Many different groups are
represented with many different reasons to protest.
>> But we're looking to defend immigrant rights. We're looking
to defend LGBTQ rights. We're looking to defend a reproductive
rights as well. I mean, the list could really go on. And they
have had attack on civil liberties, on civil rights for
too many years now, and we're here to oppose it.
>> Omar Flores is a lead organizer with the Coalition to
March on the RNC. He says that despite the intense heat earlier
this week, a wide range of protesters made their voices
heard. from the student movement, from
the Palestinian movement, from the antiwar movement, and from
the movement against police crimes.
small task to organize the protest rally, and march.
>> It takes a lot of time and a lot of very hard work, and
honestly, the city did not make it any easier up until recently.
You know, you know, we shouldn't have had to file a lawsuit to
get to where we are today. >> Protest organizers filed a
lawsuit in federal court to move their March route closer to
where most of the convention activity will be held. They lost
in court, but came to an agreement with the city to march
through downtown and within a block of the convention.
Milwaukee resident Jackie Clark says attending the protest was a
chance to express her right to free speech.
>> That's democracy, that's America.
>> Another protester thought of the past and worried for the
future. circle has turned and I don't
want the progress that we fought hard, both in our professions
and as students and as demonstrators. 50 years ago, to
be undone. Why? Why? >> While most who attended the
protests were there to show their disgust with the
Republican agenda, some counter-protesters also brought
their megaphones to Red Arrow Park. God can save you right
here in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. And a handful of Trump
supporters also showed up to watch Milwaukee resident Philip
Reitz wasn't impressed. It happens at every convention
and every town. >> Protest organizer Flores says
he doesn't expect Monday's rally in March to sway any Republican,
but he still thinks protesting serves a purpose.
>> We don't think that we're going to be changing any minds,
but we do know that we can put the pressure on and make it so
politically inconvenient for as usual.
Milwaukee for "Here& Now, I'm Stephen Potter.
>> In the 2020 election, Donald Trump received just 7% of the
black vote nationwide, which is comparable to what Republican
presidential candidates have received dating back to the
passage of the Civil Rights Act in the 1960s. But Republicans in
Wisconsin think that's going to change this fall "Here& Now"
Senior political reporter Zac Schultz has this story about the
GOP's black voter outreach program in Milwaukee.
>> There are 50,000 visitors in Milwaukee for the Republican
National Convention. But around the secure perimeter, it's a sea
of white, save for people working security or selling
Trump merchandise. Inside the Fiserv, the GOP delegates are
overwhelmingly white, but Republicans like Bob Spindell
say black voters look back at the first Trump presidency with
fondness. been involved in the in the
black community. people were happy.
>> Well, we're going to have a big splash this election cycle.
So get ready. >> Gerard Randall is first vice
chairman of the Republican Party of Wisconsin.
>> Well, good afternoon, everyone, and welcome.
>> He hosted an event Tuesday at the GOP's Black Community Center
just a few blocks north of the convention, where pictures of
Donald Trump and Ronald Reagan hang next to Martin Luther King
Jr and Abraham Lincoln. >> We're really excited for this
opportunity to showcase a couple of, our really outstanding
efforts to extend outreach into the African-American African
American community here in Milwaukee.
was South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, who is promoting the
Opportunity Zones created in Milwaukee, designed to bring
investment to the area. >> But the goal is simply to
lift African Americans out of poverty. The goal is to lift all
of Americans out of poverty who are living in poverty. It just
so happens that disproportionately African
Americans live in poverty, more so than any other demographic in
this country. >> I mean, they're they're they
just want to be able to show a presence. It's not like they're
doing a lot in the entire community.
Milwaukee County Executive and a Democrat. He says the GOP
putting a building with a billboard in a black
neighborhood isn't enough to win black votes.
>> Sometimes folks don't know how to actually address, you
know, black folks. And we've seen, you know, glad Senator Tim
Scott was in in a black neighborhood. But let's face it,
one of the first things he said on the convention floor was that
racism doesn't exist. And whether you're a Democrat or a
Republican and happen to be black, living in one of the most
segregated communities in the United States like Milwaukee
County, then you have to go, not not quite. Not so fast.
>> The black conservative Federation held a barbecue later
that evening, hoping to draw in and engage potential voters.
Turnout was low, but the Reverend Harold Turner showed
up, saying he was willing to listen.
it's important to know where you come from, and then you possibly
can go forward. You need to know your opponents as well. So if
the Republican is an opponent, we need to know if a Democrat is
doing a lot for us. We need to know that too, and we should
hold them accountable to address some of the real needs that we
are in dire need of. The black community.
delegate, Bob Spindell is also a Republican appointee to the
Wisconsin Elections Commission. After the 2022 election, he sent
out an email praising lower turnout in black neighborhoods
in Milwaukee, saying, we can be especially proud of the city of
Milwaukee casting 37,000 less votes than cast in the 2018
election, with the major reduction happening in the
overwhelmingly black and Hispanic areas, Spindell says
getting black people to not vote for Democrats was the first step
to voting for Republicans. >> Take a look at what the Dems
have done for the community over the last 50 years. Nothing has
changed. Very little has changed from what the Democrats have
been doing. evidence of voter suppression.
>> There was no effort on the part of the Republican Party
either nationally, locally or statewide, to depress the
African American vote. Voters may have stayed home on their
own volition because, frankly, the message just wasn't
resonating with them. >> Randall says. The proof will
come this November, when he says Trump will double his support
among black voters in Wisconsin. >> We are going to get better
than 15% of the African-American vote statewide here for
President Trump. >> I don't know where he's
getting those numbers from, Crowley says the RNC will be old
news by November, and black voters remember which party
supports their community. It's about investments. You can be
here all you want and say, I support you, but I tell people
all the time, it's not about being an ally. You know, we
needed accomplice. I needed you to be right next to me, with me
going down and fighting for the things that directly affect not
just me, but it affects my family as well.
>> President Joe Biden is off the campaign trail for now with
a case of Covid. There was already what's described as
rising anger and panic among many of his supporters about his
ability to go on. What must this be like for state party leaders
who help deliver Wisconsin to Joe Biden in 2020? We asked
Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chairman Ben Wikler, and thanks
a lot for being here. >> Thanks so much for having me
on, Fredricka. the Republican National
Convention with the growing number of Democrats calling for
your candidate to step aside, what's so striking this week is
that the Republican Party has been completely subsumed by
MAGA. the Republican Party. Leaders
around a candidate who selected one of the most outspoken
proponents of a 100% national abortion ban as his vice
presidential candidate. There's unity with people like Eric
Hovde around project 2025, Trump and JD Vance, their staffers
going out and writing this playbook for not only ripping
away access to abortion and emergency contraception, but
eliminating the Department of Education, shredding any kind of
protections for the environment and climate change. It's a
wholesale plan to kind of repeal the last 50 years of progress in
this country. They didn't talk about it from the convention
stage, but they have written down what they want to do. And
in this election, it's a choice between a future where Trump's
vision of being a dictator on day one becomes a reality, or
the vision that Biden and Harris have laid out that President
Biden laid out in his speech in Detroit right before the RNC, of
of signing the pro act to workers can organize and
unionize of expanding Social Security and Medicare. I think I
know which future most Wisconsinites and most Americans
want. >> What is your message to
Wisconsin voters about Joe Biden's ability to beat Donald
Trump with his poll numbers and money slipping?
much conversation and press and, you know, around the state and
around the country, it's not about whether Democrats want to
defeat Donald Trump. It's about the best way to do it. And what
I know from so many conversations is that there's a
enormous level of intensity and focus on making sure that we
defeat MAGA this fall, and that President Biden's vision for the
next term is enormously popular in a way that unites Democrats.
So I feel like you know, debates happen, conversations happen. I
think Democrats are going to come together. And I think that
when we do that, we're going to reelect President Biden and Vice
President Harris and reelect Tammy Baldwin and flip House
seats. And I think flip the state Assembly and break the
supermajority in the state Senate, because what we are
fighting for is much, much more popular than what Republicans
are trying to inflict on the country.
about Joe Biden's decision to stay in or step aside?
>> I was speaking with my friends on the Biden campaign
yesterday and others this morning. He is full steam ahead
and organizing and working to make sure that this message
carries out across the country. And, you know, of course, many
people are are trying to game out how the how the whole thing
comes together. What we know is that when Democrats speak with
one voice about the stakes for voters in their lives, then from
from President Biden down to local, state legislative
candidates, we're going to defeat MAGA this fall.
>> So regardless of who is at the top of the ticket, well,
President Biden's at the top of the ticket.
>> And Biden-Harris as a as a team won Wisconsin last time. We
overcame the odds and Democrats won the governor's race in 2022.
We flipped the Supreme Court in the in the course of 1820 and
2023. And on the ground, we have volunteers going out every week,
knocking on tens of thousands of doors, having conversations with
voters. Ultimately, voters care about how politics affects their
lives, and they know that President Biden isn't trying to
get into their doctor's offices and override their personal
medical decisions. They also have reason to fear JD Vance and
Donald Trump. JD Vance has flirted with the idea of
tracking menstrual cycles to figure out whether people are
accessing abortion care against the law. Trump has floated the
idea of punishing women who access abortions. Those ideas
are politically toxic, and we have to defeat them this fall.
>> All right, Ben Wikler, thanks very much.
>> Thanks so much for having me on.
Senate candidate Eric Hovde snagged a speaking slot at the
convention, but he also sat down this interview.
>> Well, first of all, I think Wisconsin put on a great show
for this convention. I'm very proud of our state and the
people have been so nice. The weather accommodated all the
rest. But look, I've been talking about the issues all
along, how we need change in our country, we have major problems
with our economy. The inflation. That's impacting people's lives.
Our open border, the problems that has created, crime in our
communities, our health care system, the cost, the
accessibility of our health care system, you know, there was a
whole discussion about how the world the world's in chaos right
now. So I'm just staying focused on the issues.
>> Senator Tammy Baldwin has been tough to beat in the past.
Do you expect to get any kind of a bump from the top of the
ticket, >> well, right now it looks like
President Trump is doing very well, you know, I don't get
caught up in the daily swings and polls, but I think the
message that's come out of the convention has been very
favorable, you know, and a message that I've been talking
about long before what happened this past Saturday is that we
need to bring this country together, that the politics of
division, personal destruction has been so toxic for our
country and, you know, I've been saying it and I've talked about
it in my speech. We need to come together, you know, and the
world of business, you're never going to get much done if you
take the path that most politicians do. They just camp
themselves in their own party and fight amongst themselves,
you know, and the world of business, you have to
compromise. That's become a dirty world word in politics,
which I think is wrong. >> What issues do you think
there can be compromise on between Republicans and
Democrats? fentanyl crisis. I cannot
believe Washington, D.C. has really done nothing about this
for a decade, and we're losing 100,000 young people every
single year. The fentanyl is created in China. It's sent to
the drug cartels in Mexico, brought up over our southern
border. We have to attack it at every single level. And how it's
distributed here in our country. So that's a big one, look,
there's philosophical differences on health care, but
there's issues we can come together. Drug prices. Look, I
have miss you know, to see how drug prices have just gone like
this and almost every area, that is an area that I think we can
find common ground on. So I think you can find common ground
with people if you're willing to sit down and talk with them and
engage with them. >> Did Wisconsinites tune in to
the convention special projects journalist Murv Seymour went to
West Central Wisconsin this week to gauge voter interest.
>> Hundreds of miles from the Republican National Convention
in Milwaukee, patriotism runs high in the La Crosse area. You
can tell by the American flag that waves throughout this
community in front of homes and on the streets, to be the next
vice president of the United States, with the convention so
far away, we had to wonder. >> Drill, baby drill.
>> Honestly, I think it's overkill on the TV.
>> Is anybody out there watchin? We made stops at a local park
where people told us off camera they know nothing about a
convention and didn't care. Later, they said they identify
as Democrats. Just up the road at Viterbo Sports Complex. It's
little League night. We spoke with just about everyone in the
stands behind home plate and along third base line. Many
admit they're Republican and they don't overly care about the
convention and they don't care to say so on television.
>> Like two of the RNC speeches tonight from primary rivals Ron
DeSantis and Nikki Haley. >> Like everyone else around
here, talk of the Republican National Convention tops the
local news. Surely a supporter with signs of who they support
as nominee will talk after a knock on the door. They told us
no thank you. We're not interested. Back in lacrosse.
Across the tracks below, granddad's bluff near Forest
Hills Golf Course, right on Main Street, we find Dominic Roswell
at Bluffside Tavern, having a drink with a friend. Bluffside
has been around for a long time. A really long time. Dominic grew
up here. When it comes to voting, he considers himself
part of a key voting demographic. The independent
voter. When it comes to watching the Republican convention.
>> It appeals mostly to the base. I think really, that's
where the target audience is, is strengthening the base. I don't
know if, like the independents like me really care much about
it. >> So no intention at all of
keeping up with any of it this week.
>> Only because it's from Wisconsin and everything that's
happened recently with, the assassination attempt on Trump
way up on granddad's bluff, you can enjoy $1 million view for
free or an enhanced one for less than a dollar.
hoopla for the Republican Party. I myself, and I'm not decided
yet, I do. I want to vote for. >> We found a viewpoint with
granddad Michael Eve, who admits to watching some of the
Republican convention. He says he enjoys watching the political
analysis more because, I mean, these guys, these politicians
just go on and on and on and say what you want to hear.
>> And then, reporters, in a nutshell said, well, this is
what the guy said, you know, so why should I watch hours of
them? know each other, but both have
the same view on talking politics. These days.
>> What turns into like, a nice discussion all of a sudden turns
into you know, they're at each other's throat and they don't
talk to each other again, and it's really not worth it.
>> I'm old enough to remember where you could go to parties
and be a different political affiliations, and you could
party and converse with each other, it doesn't seem that case
anymore, people just don't want to talk about they. In fact, if
they find out that you're of another party affiliation, you
won't get invited to the party. No
>> Welcome to Fathead. Steve's in downtown LA Crosse. We were
there during prime time coverage of the convention and at other
bars. What's showing on TV at Fathead? Steve's not the
convention. topics that just the
conversation can't be had. >> Bartender Ariel Malvitt says
from her experience, politics and drinks don't mix well.
>> It gets a little escalated and it it divides people
immediately, right? It's one side or the other. So it's not
it's not a healthy conversation at the bar. At least.
>> And from what we could tell, in some cases outside the bar
either. Reporting for here. Now I'm Murv Seymour.
>> Now that the convention is over, the mandate from
Republicans to their delegates is to carry the momentum into
the fall "Here& Now" Senior political reporter Zach Schultz
has the story of one group trying to do just that, while
changing the image of the Republican Party.
>> Thousands of volunteers are needed to make the Republican
National Convention a success. Most of those in red shirts have
gray hair, but there are some young people getting their first
taste of political organizing, and Republicans are hoping to
keep them involved into the fall.
and they're going to be involved.
>> A lot of them, most of them are from Wisconsin. They're
going to be here. They're going to be knocking on doors, and
that's what we're going to do. That's what we do best. Kyle
Schroeder is the chairman of the Wisconsin Young Republicans, a
group focused on recruiting, training and electing young
conservatives. We are the young professional arm of the
Republican Party of Wisconsin here in the state. And that's
where we fit in. And we want to grow the conservative movement
for young people because our message resonates directly with
them. created in 2017 as the party
realized students involved in college Republican groups often
didn't have a political home after graduation, people would
get involved in college Republicans and kind of trail
off and then come back to the GOP, and they're like 50s or 60s
when they're upset about property taxes or something like
that. >> And that's a years, decades
of lost engagement. >> Nik Rettinger represents
Mukwonago in the State Assembly and sits on the board of the
National Young Republicans. He says they're not content waiting
for middle age to take office. >> A lot of folks like to say,
we're the leaders of tomorrow. That's that's not the case.
We're leading the way today. >> When I was at college, I was
the president of the College Republicans at UW.
>> Whitewater John Beauchamp is an alternate delegate at the RNC
and says without young Republicans, a lot of people his
age might not feel comfortable going to party events.
>> Let's face it, a lot of the county parties have a very
traditional way of running things, very traditional,
structured that the median age of the individuals that are in
the county parties tends to be a little older. So the goal with
the Young Republicans is to kind of provide a sense of more
camaraderie amongst young Americans, young Wisconsinites.
party since I was very small. >> Olivia Kurth comes from a
politically active family and is working security at one of the
delegate hotels. During the convention.
just being the eyes and ears here.
college Republicans and young Republicans, and says the groups
provide a safe space for young conservatives to speak their
minds in younger groups, you kind of have to test the waters
a little bit. >> You're like, if I throw out
sour real fast? >> We have a lot of Illinois
implants coming here in Wisconsin, and they moved to
Milwaukee, or they moved to Madison and they're like, are
There are. It's the Young Republicans. And if you're in
that 20 to 30 year range, we're here.
the campaign trail this fall, and their experiences at the RNC
will help them power through to November.
palpable in a way. I feel like being a part of this and seeing
how much energy and excitement people have for being here and
for the party and everything, and there is nothing quite like
being in that room and feeling that energy.
>> On the floor of the Republican National Convention.
So bringing that energy, bringing a boost back into our
communities and into our other grassroots individuals is going
to be key for us senior political reporter Zac Schultz
brought live analysis from Media Row at the convention all week.
>> And tonight wraps it up with our political panelists,
Democrat Scot Ross Zach. >> Thanks, Fred. Well, I am back
once again. End of the week. Bill McCoshen Scot Ross. Thanks
again for all this week and for today. Let's start with the big
speech last night. Bill, what did you think was this Trump's
unity moment? Did he sail it through?
needed to do as it related to unity. CNN had a focus group of
females afterwards, and they thought they heard a different
tone from him and they liked it. They responded to it.
Personally, I think the speech was too long. It should have
been 45, 50 minutes, not 90 minutes. I think he got into
rally mode there and that's a different beast altogether. But
I think as far as the unity message, the different tone, I
think he was a different man last night. Whatever, whatever
happened last Saturday night with the assassination attempt
had a pretty profound impact on him.
speeches at once, one with the prompter and one without?
>> I what I heard was, you know, I don't want to say I dislike
the speech because the Abraham Lincoln, you know, adage, which
is I never heard a short speech I didn't like because it went on
a long time. But what I heard from the from the speech was,
you know, his delivery wasn't great, but it just, you know, it
culminated the most divisive, the most extreme, the most
alarming national political convention. I think we've seen
and again, embodied by the fact that for the first time in
American history, a major political party has nominated a
convicted felon to be its presidential nominee. That's
>> Being in the arena last night, we were all there
listening to it. What was your reaction of the people listening
to it as it went on? Was he losing the audience? Was he
losing the crowd as it kind of got into the old, old hits,
>> it came and went right there were certain lines bringing back
the American Dream that got huge applause. Eliminating the EV
mandate got huge applause. There were a lot of those throughout
the night, and I think that may have caused him to go off script
a few times when he thought that the crowd was a little subdued.
I would have preferred he just go with the speech that was in
the prompter, and I think that would have been just fine. The
good news for us is it was a great convention. I've been to
five national conventions. My former boss, Tommy Thompson, has
been to 12. We both think it's the best we've ever seen.
Milwaukee looked great. They showed great, that's going to
lead to more business for Milwaukee and Milwaukee County
going forward. >> I would definitely agree with
that. Milwaukee did a terrific job. The facilities were
fabulous. You know, they everybody was courteous. You
know I know there were some incidents and stuff outside of
the. Well we proved we could do this as a state. Yeah, exactly.
Exactly. And you know, so I so, so what was going on sort of
outside of what was being talked about in Fiserv was good. But
what was being talked about in Fiserv, I think was alarming.
Some of the biggest lines I heard that got applause was, you
know, the attack on Nancy Pelosi, you know, which is, you
know, red meat, red meat to the base. It's not un under. It's
not unexpected. But towards the end he got into a rant against
trans people. And that got so much applause. And that was
really disturbing. And I think you know, it sent the message
that I think they wanted to say, which is, again, this is going
to be a very divisive person. If we put him back in the white
House. I think we need to do in terms of performance, I'll say
this. You know, I think that he was a you know, it was stumbling
and long. And I think in the end, you know, he performed the
announcement speech version of Joe Biden's debate performance.
>> Yeah. I think one of the most notable things is he only
mentioned Joe Biden by name one time, and that was an accident
in 90 minutes. >> Acknowledged it was an
accident. it, so he had to name him and
said, I won't name him again tonight. And I think that was
smart. of Joe Biden zero mention of
abortion, which I think was the most telling thing about the
night, the thing that he bragged about getting rid of the right
to choose and making women second class citizens. And he
doesn't say anything about it in in the biggest audience. He's
going to get well now the attention will shift to Biden.
>> Earlier today, Congressman Mark Pocan, a Democrat from
Madison, announced he can no longer support Biden on the
ticket, asked for him to step down. Scott is this is this all
unraveling here in front of us? >> I don't know if the word I
would use is unraveling. What it is it's challenging campaign
because when it's a when you're when the focus becomes a
referendum on your weaknesses, that is a problem. It happened
in 2016. It was a referendum on on whether or not Clinton should
be around. Still in 2020, it was a referendum on Trump because of
his performance. Now that it's a referendum on on Joe Biden's
age, that's problematic because he's not going to get younger.
You know, the thing is, is that if the Democrats, you know, if
Joe Biden decides he doesn't want to, he doesn't want to be
the nominee and steps down. This goes back to focusing on Donald
Trump, which I think is great for the Democrats, because they
know what they get with Trump. They got 3 million lost jobs.
They got, you know, Covid being bungled, you know, and again,
Joe Biden's going to put country first. He always has. I think we
can agree with that. He always has put country first. On the
other hand you got Trump. You know you got Trump. Ivanka had
18 new I'm sorry if you need to if you need to. Yeah I'm ready
to go. I'm ready to go on that. >> If Dems are in disarray for
the next month leading into Chicago, we're totally good with
that. The fact that this guy has he earned 14 million votes in
the primary. Dems cleared the field for him so that he didn't
have a primary with Robert Kennedy RFK, Jr. and now they're
trying to push him off. I mean, so much for democracy.
>> So we're going to have a big test coming up because Kamala
Harris, the vice president, is coming to Milwaukee on Tuesday.
What does that look like? What are you expecting to hear?
>> I think she'll promote the Biden agenda as she has in the
past. And if she ends up being the nominee, we'll see if
there's an open convention, if she can actually win it. I think
the Biden agenda is what's dragging them down. Yeah, Joe
Biden's age is a big negative for them, no question about
that. Yes, his debate performance has lingered on for
three weeks after, and we've never seen that in our lifetime.
But I think she's going to have to answer for those same
policies. a candidate at that time, or is
she still the VP? >> I'm still waiting for my
call, but I don't know what's going to happen with that. I
have to say, I, you know, again, there's lots of talk. I mean,
you know, it was there was a buzz, you know, you know,
amongst media last night about what is going to happen here,
you know, and I have to disagree with Bill. I think it's going to
come back. I do think it's going to come back to policy. But I
think Biden, Biden and Democrats win on that. 16 million jobs
created, 21 million more people put on health care. And again,
you go back to the Republicans Anti-democracy, anti-abortion
trillion in tax breaks to rich people, the party trying to push
their guy out with a backroom deal he gets to do by the
influence peddlers, the decisions. He will make the
decision. And I believe he will put country first.
>> All right. Just a couple of seconds for each of you.
Absolute chaos in Chicago or orderly con convention.
Chicago. >> Yes. Well, it's Nietzsche
says out of chaos comes order. >> All right.
>> Bill McCoshen Scot Ross. Thank you so much. We will be
all together in Chicago for the whole week. Can't wait. Thanks
again. >> Starting August 19, "Here&
Now" will be in Chicago for the Democratic National Convention
streamed online at 2 p.m. Daily updates from Wisconsin on our
air at 8:30 p.m. and a "Here& Now" one hour special to view
all of our coverage, including web extras from the RNC, visit
our web site at PBS Wisconsin. Org, and then click on the news
tab. That's our program for tonight. I'm Frederica Freyberg.
Have a good weekend.
>> Funding for Here and Now is provided by the Focus Fund for
Journalism and Friends of PBS.