Trump heats up culture war in appeal to Wisconsin voters
MOSINEE,
Wis. (AP) — President Donald Trump stepped up his rhetoric Thursday on
cultural issues, aiming to boost enthusiasm among rural Wisconsin voters
as he tries to repeat his path to victory four years ago.
Making
his fifth visit to the pivotal battleground state this year, Trump
views success in the state’s less-populated counties as critical to
another term. He held a rally Thursday evening in Mosinee, in central
Wisconsin, an area of the state that shifted dramatically toward
Republicans in 2016, enabling Trump to overcome even greater deficits in
urban and suburban parts of the state.
Trump has increasingly
used his public appearances to elevate cultural issues important to his
generally whiter and older base, as he hinges his campaign on turning
out his core supporters rather than focusing on winning over a narrow
slice of undecided voters. In Mosinee, he called for a statute to ban
burning the American flag in protest — a freedom protected by the
Supreme Court — and criticized sports players and leagues for allowing
demonstrations against racial inequality.
“We have enough
politics, right,” he said, joking that sometimes, “I can’t watch me.” He
added of protests in sports, “People don’t want to see it and the
ratings are down.”
Earlier Thursday, in a speech at the National
Archives to commemorate Constitution Day, he derided The New York Times’
“1619 Project,” which aimed to recognize the often overlooked
consequences of slavery and the contributions of Black Americans.
“For
many years now, the radicals have mistaken Americans’ silence for
weakness. But they are wrong,” Trump said. “There is no more powerful
force than a parent’s love for their children — and patriotic moms and
dads are going to demand that their children are no longer fed hateful
lies about this country.”
Trump told supporters in Wisconsin:
“We’re launching a new pro-American lesson plan for students called 1776
Commission. We’re going to teach our children the truth about America.”
Trump’s
last visit to Wisconsin came on Sept. 1, when he met with law
enforcement and toured damage from protests in Kenosha that turned
violent after the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man hit seven
times in the back during an attempted arrest. Trump has sought to use
the unrest after the August shooting of Blake and the May police killing
of George Floyd in Minneapolis to tout a “law and order” message and
paint an apocalyptic vision of violence if Democrat Joe Biden wins on
Nov. 3.
“I saved the suburbs,” Trump said Thursday of his call for
federal law enforcement and national guard troops to confront
protesters. He added that police “did a great job in Kenosha.”
Trump
also previewed aid to the region’s farmers, saying $13 billion would
begin flowing “starting next week” to help farmers. He provided no
details.
Trump took another victory lap two days after he presided
over Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates recognizing Israel in a White
House ceremony.
“I got nominated twice for the Nobel Peace Prize.
That’s a big deal,” Trump said, adding, “I should’ve gotten nominated
seven times.” His supporters chanted “Nobel Peace Prize” in response.
Trump
won Marathon County, which includes Mosinee, by more than 12,000 votes
in 2016 — over three times more than the margin by which 2012 GOP
nominee Mitt Romney won the area. Trump’s team is wagering the 2020
contest on a similar performance in the county and the dozens of others
like it across battleground states.
Trump’s path to 270 Electoral
College votes may well hinge on Wisconsin, and his campaign is
investing tens of millions of dollars on advertising and
get-out-the-vote efforts in the state.
Trump’s event took place
largely outside an aircraft hangar at the Mosinee airport, his
campaign’s preferred format for mass rallies amid the coronavirus,
though Trump has been willing to host large events indoors as well,
sometimes in violation of state and federal distancing guidelines.
Republican Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin was set to join Trump on Air Force One but ended up under quarantine Thursday after learning he was exposed to someone earlier in the week who subsequently tested positive for the virus. Johnson tested negative on Wednesday night, his office said.
Associated Press writers Darlene Superville and Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report from Washington.