President Trump campaigned on jobs, guns, and football during an outdoor rally in Wisconsin on Thursday, a critical swing state he barely won in 2016 and is hoping to keep red in November, though polls show him down slightly.
In Mosinee, Wisconsin, the president told a large crowd of supporters that Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden sent their jobs and factories overseas due to poor trade deals that Mr. Trump’s administration has renegotiated, citing the United States, Mexico, Canada Trade Agreement.
The president promised to keep working to improve the state’s economy.
“The single greatest year Wisconsin has ever had was last year. The second-best year that Wisconsin has had was the year before — and guess what? The third was the year before that and you’re going to have your best year economically next year,” Mr. Trump said.
In a move to court farmers, the president announced that starting next week his administration is giving an additional $13 billion in relief to them, as Wisconsin dairy, cranberry and ginseng farmers have been struggling during the coronavirus pandemic.
Mr. Trump won Wisconsin by less than 1% in 2016 and is hoping to keep it red with a message of law and order after violent rioting broke out in Kenosha, Wisconsin where lives were lost. Polls have him down in the state by an average of 6.7 points, according to Real Clear Politics.
“We are for law and order,” the president said. “Everybody wants law and order. Minorities want law and order.”
Republicans have largely blamed local and state Democratic leadership for the violent rioting that has broken out in cities across the country, at times turning deadly.
As unrest sparked in the state of Wisconsin, gun sales surged in the area.
The president, too, reminded the state’s voters that Mr. Biden put Beto O’Rourke, a former progressive Texas lawmaker who claimed he would take away guns, in charge of his gun control agenda.
“You won’t have a Second Amendment,” Mr. Trump said. “As long as I’m here, you’ll always have a Second Amendment.”
He also mocked Mr. Biden and Democratic leaders for saying it’s unsafe to reopen the country without a COVID-19 vaccine, but now that one is being fast-tracked, they’re raising questions about its safety.
“It’s amazing how they hate the vaccine,” he said.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Big 10 Conference planned to postpone its season. But after pressure from the president, the conference reversed its decision.
Mr. Trump said he had several calls with the commissioner, offered to help with COVID-19 testing, and dealt with the parents of the players, saying they need to play so they have a chance in the NFL.
And on the topic of the NFL, the president said the players should stand for the National Anthem instead of kneeling to support Black Lives Matter because he said politics shouldn’t be part of the sport.
“We have enough politics right,” Mr. Trump said. “We don’t want to watch now on Sunday, oh here we go again with the politics.”
• Alex Swoyer can be reached at aswoyer@washingtontimes.com.
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