Trump rallies in Wisconsin’s critical Democratic stronghold ahead of the vice presidential debate

WAUNAKEE, Wis. (AP) — Former President Donald Trump spent more than an hour ahead of Tuesday night’s vice presidential debate campaigning in a Democratic county that is crucial to Kamala Harris ‘ hopes for winning the key battleground state of Wisconsin. Republican Trump appeared at a manufacturing facility in Waunakee, a suburb of Wisconsin’s capital city of Madison in the Democratic stronghold of Dane County. In an event advertised as economic-themed, Trump bounced from subject to subject, also taking on Democratic nominee Harris on issues, including foreign policy, crime and immigration, while intermittently pivoting to criticism of outgoing President Joe Biden. “I’m asking every citizen to join me in launching sort of a new golden age for America,” Trump told hundreds inside Dane Manufacturing, a metal fabricator that has a long history of hosting Republican candidates and officeholders. With hollow praise, Trump declared the one-term Carter “the happiest man” because he “is considered a brilliant president” compared to Biden. Trump did not note Carter’s birthday, nor his status as the longest-living former president. Later Tuesday, Trump held an event at a museum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin’s largest city and home to the state’s largest number of Democratic voters and second-largest number of Republicans. He claimed the U.S. faced its most dangerous time since World War II, citing the escalating Middle East conflict as well as the Russia-Ukraine war, and again argued he would have prevented those conflicts had he won a second term four years ago. Both of his planned stops were ahead of Tuesday’s debate in New York between Trump’s running mate JD Vance, a senator from Ohio, and Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz, the governor of Minnesota. Dane County, the location of Trump’s first stop, is Wisconsin’s fastest-growing county and an economic engine for the state, fueled by jobs in the health care and tech industries. Dane County’s population grew by about 30,000 people between 2016 and 2020. That presents a challenge for Republicans, especially given that nearly 90% of registered voters in the county cast ballots in 2020. Biden won 75% of the vote that year in Dane County, beating Trump by 181,000 votes in the county while carrying the state by fewer than 21,000. Hillary Clinton beat Trump in Dane County in 2016 by 47 points, and Trump won the state by less than a point. What to know about the 2024 Election Today’s news: Follow live updates Ground Game: Sign up for AP’s weekly politics newsletter AP’s Role: The Associated Press is the most trusted source of information on election night, with a history of accuracy dating to 1848. In remarks to the crowd before Trump arrived, Thompson said the former president should “go where the opposition is.” “And, the retort was, ‘Isn’t Madison very liberal?’” Thompson said. “Yes, but Dane County has the third most Republican votes in the state of Wisconsin and all we have to do is increase them.” Democratic presidential candidates have long come to Dane County to hold massive rallies to fire up the base. Waunakee, which bills itself as the “only Waunakee in the world,” is slightly more Republican than the county as a whole. In 2020, Trump got 36% of the vote there compared to less than 23% countywide. – This Summarize was created by Neural News AI (V1). Source: https://apnews.com/60307f1fa8530c60a7f7cde721260efc