milwaukee presidential visit

Takeaways from President Joe Biden's trip to Milwaukee

Note: This story has been corrected to reflect President Joe Biden's birthplace.

President Joe Biden visited Milwaukee Wednesday to highlight a multi-million dollar investment toward the city's "complete streets" initiative and stop at the campaign's new Wisconsin headquarters in the critical swing state.

Wednesday marks Biden's second visit to Wisconsin after a trip to the border city of Superior in January . On Thursday, Biden will head to Saginaw, Michigan, after staying overnight in Milwaukee.

Here are the takeaways from Biden's visit, the "complete streets" project, and why the campaign is narrowing in on Wisconsin.

Biden continues economic message with 'complete streets' investment

During his visit, Biden highlighted $36.6 million in federal funds being allocated from the Infrastructure Act for a project to convert a 2.6-mile section of Sixth Street to a "complete street."

Milwaukee's complete streets efforts  seek to make streets safe and convenient to pedestrians, bicyclists, transit users and anyone else who wants to use them, regardless of age or ability.

More: What to know about the Sixth Street 'complete streets' project President Joe Biden plans to highlight in Milwaukee

At the Pieper-Hillside Boys & Girls Club, Biden said the project is for the "future" of the children who utilize the community center. He lamented the effects of interstate infrastructure of decades ago splitting predominantly Black neighborhoods in Philadelphia — Biden was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania. 

"The same thing happened here," Biden said of Milwaukee. "Imagine all those homes, those mom and pop stores, that could have been passed down (to other generations)."

"The story of Bronzeville here in Milwaukee is one that we see all across the country. Our interstate highway system laid out in the 50s was a groundbreaking connection of a nation's coast to coast," Biden said at Pieper-Hillside Boys & Girls Club on Sixth Street W. Cherry. 

"The purpose of it was to transform the way people live, work and travel. Instead of connecting communities, it divided. These highways actually tore them apart."

More: These timelapses show Milwaukee transforming over 70 years, from Bronzeville to American Family Field

Past visits from the administration have focused on building up the economy through infrastructure, including Vice President Kamala Harris' stop at a future Madison Metro Transit facility last week , where she announced an executive order to promote apprenticeships.

Republicans responded by knocking 'Bidenomics'

Republican Party of Wisconsin chairman Brian Schimming this week blasted Biden's decision to tout the federal investment in the Sixth Street corridor.

“Instead of paying us a visit to brag about his abysmal record, the President should be offering working families an apology for Bidenomics," he said in a statement. 

Republicans in the state have responded to administration visits by citing how the lingering effects of inflation impact voters. During Harris' visit, Schimming called the visits "rescue missions" to the Democratic base in Wisconsin.

Former President Donald Trump, who is all but certain to face Biden in a rematch this November, has not yet visited Wisconsin this election cycle.

More: In Marquette's latest poll of Wisconsin voters, a parade of red flags for Biden and Trump

Campaign putting an emphasis on Milwaukee

Biden is also expected to stop at his campaign's new headquarters in Milwaukee, located at 252 E Highland Ave. This year is the first time a Democratic presidential nominee has made Milwaukee a state campaign headquarters in at least two decades.

Campaign officials have said the location reflects the campaign's focus on Black and Latino voters and suburban women in the Milwaukee area. First lady Jill Biden visited Waukesha earlier this month to speak to women voters about abortion and health care.

At the headquarters, Biden spoke to supporters and highlighted the opening of more than 40 other campaign offices in the state.“Here in Milwaukee specifically, but Wisconsin generally and several other states, it’s going to get down to knocking on doors the old-fashioned way,” Biden said.

“Folks, look, you’ve got a lot to do. There’s an awful lot at stake in this campaign,” Biden said.

Biden also visited Milwaukee in December , where he spoke at the Wisconsin Black Chamber of Commerce to announce new directives intended to support small businesses and highlight his administration's support for Black-owned businesses.

Black voters in Milwaukee have expressed a lack of enthusiasm for a rematch of 2020 between Biden and Trump.

Protesters of the war in Gaza made their presence felt

Protesters gathered in Milwaukee's Red Arrow Park, a couple of blocks from the Biden campaign headquarters, to demand Biden push more strongly for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Echoing movements in Michigan and Minnesota, they said they would not vote for him in Wisconsin's April 2 primary as a demonstration of their outrage over the United States' handling of the Israel-Hamas war and the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.

"They will definitely lose this election if they don't listen to their constituents," said Janan Najeeb, president of the Milwaukee Muslim Women's Coalition.

Molly Beck and Sophie Carson contributed to this story.

President Joe Biden visits Milwaukee as campaign keeps focus on swing states

Milwaukee, Madison get grants for street redesign projects

President Joe Biden was in Milwaukee Wednesday to announce new federal funding for transportation infrastructure, his latest visit to Wisconsin coming the day after he and former President Donald Trump officially secured the delegates needed for a rematch.

Biden announced Milwaukee will receive a $36 million grant for a street reconstruction project city officials say will improve safety.

President Biden spoke to around 100 people gathered at the Pieper – Hillside Boys and Girls Club of Milwaukee late Wednesday afternoon, which is located on 6th Street, the focus of the reconstruction project. He said the work will connect the city’s south side to the north side. 

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“These are life changing improvements,” Biden said. “They’re also going to make it easy for historic Black communities in the north and Latino communities in the south to access jobs, school and entertainment opportunities in the city and central hub — from watching the Milwaukee Bucks play to attending the Milwaukee Area Technical College.” 

The Wisconsin trip was part of a series of campaign stops around the country where Biden is trying to bring a message to voters about his administration’s investment in infrastructure. The president has held events in Pennsylvania and Georgia over the last week, and will head to Michigan on Thursday.

Trump is also on the campaign trail , but has yet to visit Wisconsin.

On Wednesday in Milwaukee, Biden announced $3.3 billion for 132 infrastructure projects across the nation aimed at reconnecting communities that were torn apart by past transportation projects.

Milwaukee’s 6th Street corridor is near Interstate 94/43. Construction for that project in the 1960s led to the demolition of roughly 17,000 homes and 1,000 businesses in the city, according to the White House. Biden said many other communities across the nation have been impacted by similar projects. 

“You’ve lived in and felt the decisions made decades ago. Today, today, we’re making decisions to transform your lives (for) decades to come, and we’re doing it all over America,” Biden said during his speech.

Milwaukee’s project will focus on a 2.6 mile stretch of the 6th Street corridor, from North Avenue to National Avenue. It’ll include work to widen sidewalks, install bike lanes and bus lanes, place new trees near the road and includes infrastructure work to prevent sewage from flowing into the Milwaukee River and Lake Michigan. Construction is set to start in 2027, according to the Milwaukee Department of Public Works. 

“Part of what stood out about this project was how many benefits we saw all at once through the transformation of this 2.6 mile stretch of 6th Street,” U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg said during a press call Tuesday.

It was Biden’s ninth trip to Wisconsin as president and second so far this year, another reminder of the key role the swing state will play in the election. The visit comes as the 2024 presidential election is shaping up to be a rematch of the 2020 election, when Biden beat Trump by less than a percentage point in Wisconsin. 

Other state, national projects also won awards

Many of the other national projects that received funding through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods program are focused on  rebuilding communities, “including those that were divided by transportation infrastructure decades ago and have long been overlooked,” according to a statement from the White House. 

In addition to the grant the city received for work on 6th street, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation received $2 million to explore possible reconstruction efforts on West National Avenue in Milwaukee near Interstate 43/94. That study will “identify and evaluate alternatives to reconnect the neighborhoods and address safety and mobility concerns.”

The city of Madison received $1 million for planning and feasibility efforts for the Perry Street Overpass project. That project aims to reconnect Perry Street over the Beltline Highway, which was split during construction almost 70 years ago. 

In a statement, Wisconsin Department of Transportation Craig Thompson said the money will create a “tremendous opportunity” for the state. 

“Thanks to our federal partners, we have a tremendous opportunity to reconnect neighborhoods, create safer streets and improve pedestrian and bicyclist access in ways that meet the transportation needs these communities deserve,” Thompson said. 

Presidential race is heating up 

The visit comes as President Biden’s job approval rating is at 37 percent, close to the lowest level of his presidency, according to Reuters. In a recent Marquette University Law School Poll , Trump is leading Biden nationally among registered voters 51-49.

Biden’s visit drew criticism from the Republican National Committee, who called it part of his “Bankrupting America Tour.” 

“Joe Biden just proposed $7.3 trillion in wasteful spending and $4.9 trillion in tax hikes on the backs of Wisconsin families, so his attempt to save face for Bidenomics’ failures is laughable,” the statement said. “President Trump built a strong economy that delivered relief for families across the country, and he’ll do it again.”

Biden was in Superior earlier this year to promote the administration’s infrastructure investments. In August and December, he stopped in Milwaukee to promote the Inflation Reduction Act and efforts to support Black-owned businesses .

Last week , First Lady Jill Biden visited Waukesha to tout her husband’s position on reproductive rights. It was one of the first stops on her “Women for Biden-Harris” tour. Three days later, Vice President Kamala Harris was in Madison to announce an apprenticeship program for the federal workforce. 

Wisconsin Public Radio, © Copyright 2024, Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System and Wisconsin Educational Communications Board.

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Preparations underway ahead of President Biden’s visit to Milwaukee

MILWAUKEE — Steel barricades, neon orange road-closure signs, and “no-parking” covers on parking meters in downtown Milwaukee are all signs that an important visitor is on their way.

For the first time since 2018, a sitting president will spend the night here in Milwaukee.

The White House said in a press release that President Joe Biden will be in town on Wednesday, March 13, and on Thursday, March 14. He will deliver remarks regarding infrastructure, including announcing $36.6 million in funding to redesign 6th Street in Milwaukee. The design will work to make the corridor more pedestrian and public transit friendly. It is one of 40 projects nationwide receiving funding for transportation.

• LIVE UPDATES: President Biden Visits Milwaukee

After, the President will participate in a campaign event. Most of the preparations are centered around the Pfister Hotel, a popular stay for sports teams and other big names.

“The Pfister is the go-to place for presidential visits. I’ve seen President Obama, President Reagan, and President Clinton— I’ve gone through this with every president in town for the past twenty years,” Bill DeLind said.

He owns DeLind Fine Art Appraisals across the street from the Pfister and has mixed reactions on the visits.

“My customers don’t live in the block. They come from the suburbs, they come from a long way away. It hurts.”

Others say the President’s visit might do the opposite.

“Hopefully that brings some people downtown to boost business a bit,” Zach Dott, the General Manager at SportClub, said. It’s a bar across from the Pfister.

He said a secret service agent visited him the week earlier to share the road in front of the bar would be closed from Wednesday afternoon to Thursday afternoon.

“It’s exciting. There’s a big election coming up and the RNC this summer. This is kind of a precursor to a big summer ahead,” Dott said.

While some business owners were aware of the president's visit, others found out for the first time Tuesday. The red 'no parking covers' on Milwaukee Street's meters were Tru Tyson's first clue the President was coming to town.

"I had no knowledge. I found out this morning when I was coming into work and saw the red bags covering all the meters," Tyson said.

The stylist at Milwaukee Street Barbershop has dealt with tough traffic from high profile visits before and says it'll be an adjustment but shouldn't deter business.

​"The only way it's affecting people is increasing walk times since they can't park on the street right by us," said Tyson. "They might be a little late cause they're running from around the corner, or two blocks over, but other than that, no real problems."

A few storefronts down from the barbershop, Joshua Jones owns the store BrokeLife and tells TMJ4 he's gearing up for a chaotic day.

"It's going to be pandemonium tomorrow," laughed Jones "It's gonna be a lot of blocked off areas downtown."

When asked how he'll adapt to the traffic changes his answer was simple: "I'm going to take advantage of it. Presidential discounts!"

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Here are 6 takeaways from Biden's visit to Milwaukee and what it means for 2024

P resident Joe Biden visited a crucial voting bloc for Democrats on Wednesday, making a stop in Milwaukee to highlight his administration's support for Black-owned businesses in the battleground state of Wisconsin.

Biden's visit comes as Democrats are looking to shore up support among Black voters in Wisconsin as enthusiasm is in short supply for a potential 2020 rematch next fall, according to recent polling.

The president visited the Wisconsin Black Chamber of Commerce in Milwaukee to announce new directives intended to support small businesses. He pointed to progress made through legislation like the American Rescue Plan and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law in remarks to a historically Democratic audience.

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Here are takeaways about his visit and what it highlights about the importance of Black voters in Milwaukee as the 2024 presidential election draws closer:

Biden blasts Trump on immigrant comment

In Milwaukee, Biden promised Black workers would benefit from his administration's economic strategy that he described as a shift from former President Donald Trump's focus on cutting tax burdens for wealthy Americans.

"This a fundamental break from trickle-down economics ... economics that was supercharged by my predecessor, the guy who thinks we're polluting the blood of Americans," Biden said, referring to a comment Trump recently made about immigrants who enter the U.S. illegally.

"... illegal immigration is poisoning the blood of our nation," Trump wrote in all caps in a post on his social media site Truth Social on Dec. 16.

"I don't believe as ... the former president said again yesterday, that immigrants are polluting our blood," Biden said. "The economy in our nation is stronger when we're tapping into the full range of talents in this nation."

Largest cheers for efforts to reduce Black child poverty

Biden said he would continue to pursue an extension to pandemic-era child tax credits that he credited with cutting poverty rates for Black children in half, which drew the most applause.

"I've tried to extend it and every single Republican (congressperson) in Congress voted against continuing the program but I'm not giving up until we get it back," he said.

Biden stopped at Hero Plumbing before his speech

Biden first made a stop in the Garden Homes neighborhood to visit Hero Plumbing owner Rashawn Spivey, who demonstrated his work in replacing lead pipes.“This was a really nice neighborhood before the manufacturing left,” Spivey said, noting the loss of a high-rise corporation just blocks away.Biden later highlighted the loss of manufacturing in his speech at the chamber and said "we're making sure Milwaukee is coming back, and all of Milwaukee is coming back."

"Tens of thousands migrated from the South to the middle of the country, to Milwaukee, for good-paying manufacturing jobs. Then decades of discrimination and trickle-down economics left communities like this one behind," Biden said. 

Residents of the neighborhood stood on a nearby street corner filming and taking photos. As the president departed in his motorcade, one waved and held a “Biden-Harris” sign.

Democrats looking to engage Black voters after stagnant turnout

In addition to focusing on the loss of manufacturing, Biden called efforts to ban books about Black history "unconscionable."

"These attacks hurt all Americans, because investing in Black economic prosperity lifts everybody up. We always believe diversity is our strength as a nation," Biden said.

Turnout in Milwaukee for Biden in 2020 was virtually the same as the presidential election in 2016, and slightly worse in wards where the majority of voters are Black.

Biden picked up about 5,100 fewer votes than then-Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in wards where at least 50% of residents were Black. And in the most predominantly Black wards, where more than 90% of residents are Black, Biden got almost 2,900 fewer votes than Hillary Clinton in 2016.

Pro-Palestine protesters demonstrated near Biden's speech

A number of demonstrators gathered outside of the Wisconsin Black Chamber of Commerce to protest Biden's refusal to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza . The group is part of a so-called "Abandon Biden" campaign launched by Muslim leaders nationally.

The group says its goal is to "guarantee Biden's loss" in 2024.

Biden has not called for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip but has warned Israel it was losing international support because of its bombing of civilians in Gaza as part of its war against Hamas. The United Nations has called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire.

Republicans harnessing lingering economic discontent

Blue and green banners at the Wisconsin Black Chamber of Commerce advertised "Bidenomics," though state Republicans called out the president's economic agenda as a failure.

"It's pretty clear (Biden) is not going to a grocery store and talk to people checking out who are paying 20% more per groceries, 17% more for everything they’re buying this year," U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil, who represents the First Congressional District, said in a morning call with reporters.

In Wisconsin, voters have a largely pessimistic view of the state of the U.S. economy, according to a Marquette University Law Poll  released last month . Just 27% of respondents described the economy as “excellent” or “good” while 36% described it as “not so good” and 37% labeled it “poor.”

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Here are 6 takeaways from Biden's visit to Milwaukee and what it means for 2024

President Biden coming to Milwaukee Wednesday

MILWAUKEE, Wis. (WBAY) - President Biden is visiting Milwaukee on Wednesday, a day after the Biden campaign opened more than 40 re-election offices across Wisconsin.

The president will announce details of a new project awarding $3.3 billion to repair infrastructure in disadvantaged communities. It includes money for highways, bridges, new transit routes, sidewalks, and bicycle lanes. The U.S. Transportation Secretary says $39.6 million from those funds are going to Wisconsin.

The president’s visit comes after Vice President Kamala Harris visited Madison last week and First Lady Jill Biden visited Waukesha earlier this month.

President Biden clinched the Democratic Party’s nomination with primary wins Tuesday in Georgia, Mississippi and Washington.

Former President Donald Trump also secured the Republican Party nomination in those contests.

Copyright 2024 WBAY. All rights reserved.

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President Biden to visit Milwaukee next week; sell vision for 2nd term

US President Joe Biden during a State of the Union address at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, March 7, 2024. Election-year politics will increase the focus on Biden's remarks and lawmakers' reactions, as he's stumping to the nation

MILWAUKEE - Fresh off his defiant State of the Union address , President Joe Biden and his senior aides will barnstorm the country starting Friday to aggressively sell his vision for a second term to voters — and warn of the Republican alternative. From Wednesday, March 13 to Thursday, March 14, the president will travel to Milwaukee , Wisconsin, and Saginaw, Michigan. 

The president will try to ride the post-speech momentum to Pennsylvania and Georgia for campaign events in two critical battleground states that he flipped in 2020 and is hoping to keeping in his column this November. He'll move on to Wisconsin and Michigan next week.

Vice President Kamala Harris is making her own trips, first to Arizona to continue her nationwide tour to promote reproductive rights and then to Nevada for her own campaign stop.

Biden's reelection campaign was almost giddy after the speech, vowing to build on momentum it says the president created to stay on the offensive against Donald Trump .

The president's campaign announced Friday that he and Harris will visit every major swing state in coming days, while launching a $30 million, six-week advertising campaign on TV and digital platforms designed to highlight key themes from the State of the Union to Black, Asian and Hispanic communities.

That push will include buys during the NCAA basketball tournament, as Biden's camp attempts to leverage high ratings, like it says it did when airing an ad promising to defend abortion rights during the recent Grammy awards.

By the end of this month, the campaign expects to expand from 100 staff members in seven battleground states to more than 350, while also opening more than 100 field offices. Trump's campaign is targeting essentially the same areas, looking to flip Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Georgia and Arizona after 2020 defeats there, while fending off Biden's efforts to make inroads in North Carolina and Florida.

Biden’s campaign is seeking to hit Trump hard at one of his most vulnerable moments, when the former president may be struggling to consolidate his party after the primary — and as more potentially persuadable voters begin coming to terms with the fact that November really will be a 2020 rematch.

"We know that he lost in 2020 and so, in order to win, he’s got to expand his base of voters to find new people to be with him and that is not something that he’s shown that he’s really focused on," Biden campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon said on a conference call with reporters on Friday.

She also noted that, after former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley left the Republican presidential primary race, "instead of wrapping his arms around them — like we certainly have — Trump has really mocked her supporters."

Biden’s reelection campaign said the first hour of the State of the Union prompted its best fundraising hour since it launched in 2023, but that the next two hours each set new records. It did not say how much money it actually collected.

The Trump campaign has also used his romp through the GOP primary to try to seize momentum heading into November. A Super PAC backing the former president has released an ad highlighting Biden’s age, 81, and declaring, "If Biden wins, can he even survive till 2029?"

Biden’s campaign said Thursday night’s speech showed that, rather than a contrast of age with the 77-year-old Trump, Biden is offering a stark policy choice with his predecessor.

"While he’s four years younger his ideas are old as hell" Biden campaign spokesman Michael Tyler said of Trump . "He’s talking about fundamentally taking us backward as a country."

Presidents traditionally take their State of the Union message on the road, but Biden’s sales pitch this year is more critical than ever as he tries to sell not only his policy achievements to a skeptical electorate but show that he is up to the task of the presidency.

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Cabinet secretaries and senior White House officials are embarking on their own post-State of the Union travel blitz to amplify Biden’s message starting Friday and continuing throughout the coming weeks, hitting not only swing states but rural territory such as Missouri, Kentucky and Tennessee.

In his address at the Capitol, Biden took on an unusually fiery tone, contrasting his vision to that of "my predecessor" — Donald Trump — more than a dozen times not just on policies such as health care and taxes but for his views on freedom and democracy, both in the U.S. and abroad.

As he gave live commentary on his social media site, Trump mocked Biden’s delivery — saying, "THIS IS LIKE A SHOUTING MATCH" — and defending his policies from Biden’s repeated jabs.

The Biden administration is parceling out chunks of Biden’s agenda for different Cabinet officials to promote in the coming weeks. Much of that will focus on how Biden’s policies have spurred key investments in communities nationwide, with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg traveling to Philadelphia and Rhode Island in the coming weeks to promote bridge repairs and other infrastructure improvements.

The Cabinet travels include a heavy dose of climate policy, with Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and Interior Secretary Deb Haaland planning to boost Biden’s climate policies at a conference in Florida on Monday. Michael Regan, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, is crisscrossing the country — stopping in Florida, California and Oregon — to promote electrified school buses and other efforts to transition to a clean energy economy.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is headed to Kentucky next week to tout Biden’s efforts to bolster the economy in disadvantaged communities, while Education Secretary Miguel Cardona is hitting up Massachusetts and Pennsylvania to discuss education opportunities through Biden’s agenda.  

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President Joe Biden's Milwaukee visit touts 'Bidenomics' as 2024 election cycle heats up

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President Joe Biden hailed “Bidenomics” as the path to strengthening the middle class and boosting the American economy during his visit on Tuesday to a state that will likely play a critical role in his reelection chances in just 15 months' time.

“It’s working,” Biden told a group of about 150 workers and supporters inside a manufacturing plant in Milwaukee. “We’re investing in America… My plan is leading to a boom in manufacturing and manufacturing investment as we're seeing right here in this factory," Biden said.

More: Wind turbine maker Ingeteam plans expansion. Labor secretary Walsh highlights impact of Inflation Reduction Act.

He delivered his remarks at Ingeteam Inc., a manufacturer that specializes in electric power conversion, one day before the anniversary of the signing of the Inflation Reduction Act, legislation passed last year that made historic investments in clean energy.

“When I think climate, I think jobs,” Biden said.

While billed as an official visit, Biden’s trip to Milwaukee carries significant political weight. It falls just one week before the nation’s top Republicans converge on the same city for the first GOP presidential primary debate Aug. 23 . And he comes to Wisconsin at a time when the electorate is reluctant to see a rematch between Biden and the current Republican frontrunner, former President Donald Trump .

Recently, some Democrats have proposed alternatives to Biden and floated the idea of a Democratic primary challenge. But Biden and his supporters on Capitol Hill see the administration’s investments in infrastructure and manufacturing as a path to winning over voters.

“I came to office determined to move away from trickle-down economics, to focus on the middle class,” Biden said. “Because, as I said, when the middle class does well, everybody does well.”

He mentioned various projects across Wisconsin aided by federal funding, including $80 million to replace an interstate bridge in Columbia County, as he sought at times to contrast himself with Trump. “You know, the last guy talked about infrastructure month,” Biden said, repeating a line he’s used in past remarks. “We got infrastructure decade, baby.”

Republicans, meanwhile, have been consistent in their criticisms of Biden’s economic plans. Top Wisconsin GOP officials have called Bidenomics “disastrous” and cited high prices that many Americans saw at the beginning of the year.

"I think people in Wisconsin are going to be scratching their head about this alternative universe that this president lives in,” Republican Party of Wisconsin Chairman Brian Schimming said Tuesday morning. “Bidenomics is the latest rendition of economic failure for this White House.”

“There's gonna be no amount of political spinning the president can do in Milwaukee today that is gonna pull Wisconsinites,” Schimming added.

Many of the state’s top Democrats were also present in Milwaukee Tuesday. Gov. Tony Evers, U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore, Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson and Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley greeted the president when he landed.

Before the president’s remarks, Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, Evers and Moore joined Biden as he met with eight Ingeteam employees in a wing of the facility that stores parts for wind turbine generators and EV charging stations.

Valentino Collado, an assemblyman at Ingeteam and an immigrant from the Philippines, introduced Biden at the event. Collado said being part of the union has given him opportunity, stability and job security.

“America’s union workforce is the backbone of this country,” Collado said. “That’s something President Biden understands at his core. When it comes to creating jobs, rebuilding the middle class and respecting the dignity of workers, Joe Biden has delivered (for) the American people.

Since Biden took office, Wisconsin companies have committed more than $3 billion to manufacturing and clean energy investments, according to a White House official. That figure includes $1.5 billion from Alliant Energy to build utility-scale battery storage facilities at solar farms across the state, a move the administration estimates will create 2,000 construction jobs.

Ingeteam, a favorite campaign stop for Democrats , earlier this year announced it would increase production of electric vehicle chargers to help meet the Biden administration’s goal of establishing 500,000 EV charging stations along highways. The company, the White House said, expects orders of wind turbine generators to double next year due to incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act.

Inside the facility Tuesday, Biden spoke from a small stage surrounded by light blue parts of turbine generators. He was flanked by a handful of workers in vests and hardhats and stood in front of a large blue banner with the words: “Bidenomics. Investing in America” as he touted the Inflation Reduction Act, the CHIPS and Science Act , which made investments in domestic manufacturing, and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

Biden criticizes Sen. Ron Johnson on manufacturing jobs

On multiple occasions during his remarks, Biden took aim at Wisconsin Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, whom he accused of supporting outsourcing manufacturing jobs. Johnson in 2020 advocated for shipping some jobs overseas,  describing the ability to outsource manufacturing jobs as one of the benefits of the global economy.

“Between the year 2000 and the year 2021, Wisconsin alone lost more than 136,000 manufacturing jobs alone,” Biden said. “I’d like to see Sen. Johnson talk to those 136,000 people and tell them it doesn’t matter whether you manufacture things at home or overseas. It sure as hell does, man.”

The president’s visit came as fires have devastated Maui, Hawaii , in recent days. Hawaiian officials have said 99 people have been killed, and that total could increase. Biden said nearly 500 federal personnel have been deployed to Maui to assist survivors and families and claimed he and the First Lady plan to travel to the island.

“We're gonna coordinate, continue to coordinate relentlessly with the people on the ground and make sure that critical work continues,” Biden said of rescue and aid efforts in Hawaii. “Every asset, every asset they need will be there for them. We’ll be there in Maui as long as it takes.”

While Biden took centerstage Tuesday, Republicans plan to make their own mark on Milwaukee as they flood the city for the first GOP presidential debate next Wednesday. Nearly all of the top Republican candidates plan to attend the debate, though it remains unclear whether former President Donald Trump will attend.

On Tuesday, Biden made no mention of the debate and only referenced his predecessor when he spoke of his own infrastructure investments.

He used his final remarks to speak directly to a crowd he will need behind him in order to win in 2024.

“Let me tell you, America's best days are ahead, not behind us,” Biden said. “Not because of me, (but) because of you. This isn't about the past. It's about the future. It's about each of us writing the next chapter in American history.”

“I can honestly say,” he added, “I’ve never been more optimistic, and I mean this from the bottom of my heart, I’ve never been more optimistic about America’s future…”

“We’re the United States of America. There’s nothing, nothing beyond our capacity when we do it together, so let’s do it together, God love you.”

Tyler Katzenberger of the Journal Sentinel staff contributed reporting from Madison.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Biden's Milwaukee visit touts 'Bidenomics' as 2024 cycle heats up

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Fact-checking biden's milwaukee visit.

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President Joe Biden speaks at a town hall in Milwaukee on Feb. 16, 2021

President Joe Biden chose a town hall event in Milwaukee for his first major appearance as president outside the nation’s capital.

We took a closer look at a number of key statements he made while speaking for a little over an hour topics including COVID-19, racial justice and stimulus funds.

"Kids don't get ... COVID very often. It's unusual for that to happen."

In May, we rated Mostly False a claim by Republican state Rep. Janel Brandtjen that "children don’t seem to be getting this virus." That went beyond the claim Biden makes here in asserting it essentially doesn’t happen.

Children do get the virus less often. It’s the key reason Biden and others are pushing to open up more schools for in-person learning.

The latest CDC data shows children under 18 account for about 11% of COVID cases, though that group is more than 20% of the national population . There’s an even starker comparison in deaths by age group: children under 18 account for just 0.1% of COVID-19 deaths nationwide.

But Biden was talking about cases here. While less common than other age groups, there have still been 2.3 million cases, so calling this "unusual" is a stretch.

About 70% of the population needs to have antibodies for herd immunity to kick in

The antibodies referenced here could come from a vaccine or from the natural ones generated by people who have had COVID-19.

This is essentially identical to a claim checked by PolitiFact Texas in January 2021. They rated a 70% claim Mostly True .

This figure is essentially a theoretical one, and scientists disagree on how best to calculate it. Most estimates show the herd immunity threshold is somewhere between 60% and 83%, though others say the range could be a bit above or below that as well.

So Biden’s figure is solidly in the middle of this range, though citing an exact figure implies a precision we don’t necessarily have at this point.

"States make the decisions on who is in what order" for vaccines

This was Biden’s response after a Milwaukee woman asked if Biden would prioritize vaccines for vulnerable people like her son, who she said was diagnosed with pediatric COPD and has the lungs of a 60-year-old.

Biden is right. States have the final say in which groups receive the vaccine first, though most have followed federal recommendations. The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices issued initial guidance in December that the highest priority groups should be healthcare workers and long-term care residents, with later recommendations including other elderly citizens and front-line essential workers such as first responders and educators.

The nonpartisan health care research group Kaiser Family Foundation reported in December that 45 states followed the CDC committee’s plan for the first phase of rollout. Wisconsin is currently vaccinating healthcare personnel, residents and staff in long-term care facilities, police and fire staffers and adults 65 and older.

"I was listed as the poorest man in Congress for — not a joke — for over 30 years."

Biden served in Congress from 1973 until he became vice president in 2009, so he’s essentially claiming he was the poorest man in Congress throughout that span. With more than 500 lawmakers between the House and Senate, it’s a noteworthy claim.

Biden also brought up his income in October 2019, saying he entered and left Congress as one of the poorest men in government, which PolitiFact National rated Mostly True . But this new claim is much more sweeping.

Congressional wealth is notoriously difficult to pin down, since disclosure forms require only reporting assets in an income range (i.e. $500,000 to $1 million) rather than specific figures. And like PolitiFact National, we didn’t find any exhaustive comparison of those forms going back nearly far enough for the claim Biden makes.

But the Center for Responsive Politics did estimate Congressional wealth starting at the tail end of Biden’s career, and their databases show Biden ranked 528 of 543 in 2005 , 520 of 537 in 2006 , 532 of 544 in 2007 and 538 of 575 in 2008 . We checked a few of his disclosure filings dating back to 1995 that the center posted, and they show similar income through that time. His 1973 filing showed no significant assets either, PolitiFact National reported.

So Biden, coming from a working-class family, certainly was on the low end of the Congressional wealth spectrum from what we can see. But his claim that he was the poorest throughout such a long span appears to overreach.

"We have to put more money in policing so we have legitimate community policing"

Biden said this in response to a question about defunding the police. While it’s not a factual assertion, we include it here because it’s the kind of statement where we often use our Flip-O-Meter, to see how a current and past policy positions line up.

It’s a noteworthy topic since Biden was often accused during the campaign of supporting defunding law enforcement. PolitiFact Wisconsin rated False an August 2020 claim from President Donald Trump that Biden was "on board with defunding the police."

We noted in that piece how a Biden column in USA TODAY said, "The better answer is to give police departments the resources they need to implement meaningful reforms, and to condition other federal dollars on completing those reforms." And his campaign website laid out a plan to spend $300 million to reinvigorate community policing by providing grants to hire officers that reflect the racial diversity of the communities they serve.

In short, this is consistent with Biden’s past position.

Our Sources

PolitiFact Wisconsin, Yes, children do get coronavirus. It just might not be as serious , May 22, 2020

CDC, Demographic Trends of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the US reported to CDC , Feb. 17, 2021

Kaiser Family Foundation, Population Distribution by Age , accessed Feb. 17, 2021

PolitiFact Texas, Examining how science determines COVID-19's 'herd immunity threshold, ' Jan. 15, 2021

CDC, The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ Interim Recommendation for Allocation Initial Supplies of COVID-19 Vaccine - United States , 2020, Dec. 11, 2020

CDC, ACIP Presentation Slides, December 19 and 20, 2020 Meeting 

Kaiser Family Foundation, How are States Prioritizing Who Will Get the COVID-19 Vaccine First? , Dec. 14, 2020

Wisconsin Department of Health Services, COVID-19: Vaccine Phases and Eligibility , accessed Feb. 17, 2021

PolitiFact National, Fact-checking Joe Biden's claim that he was among the poorest in government , Oct. 30, 2019

Center for Responsive Politics, Net Worth, 2005 , accessed Feb. 17, 2021

Center for Responsive Politics, Net Worth, 200 6, accessed Feb. 17, 2021

Center for Responsive Politics, Net Worth, 2007 , accessed Feb. 17, 2021

Center for Responsive Politics, Net Worth, 2008 , accessed Feb. 17, 2021

Center for Responsive Politics, Joe Biden financial disclosure filings , 1995-2014

PolitiFact Wisconsin, No, Joe Biden isn’t 'on board with defunding police ,' Aug. 5, 2020

USA TODAY, Biden: We must urgently root out systemic racism, from policing to housing to opportunity , June 10, 2020

Joe Biden campaign website, The Biden plan for strengthening America’s commitment to justice , accessed Feb. 17, 2021

Browse the Truth-O-Meter

More by eric litke.

Fact-checking Biden's Milwaukee visit

Milwaukee-based retail giant Kohl’s says 'No' to sponsoring Republican convention events

Milwaukee-based department store giant  Kohl’s  says it will not sponsor any events related to the  Republican National Convention  in that city this summer,  where Donald Trump  will be crowned the  party ’s nominee for president.

“Kohl’s is not a political organization nor donor and is not sponsoring nor engaging in any specific RNC events,” a spokeswoman for the company told CNBC. “We support the business community through the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce.”

The convention is expected to bring around 50,000 people to the Brew City from July 15 — 18, culminating in Trump’s all but certain acceptance of his party’s nomination on the final night.

The announcement comes as both Republicans and Democrats are scrambling to  secure corporate support for their party conventions  at a time when many big name brands are trying to stay far away from politics.

Fiserv is among Wisconsin’s largest companies on the Fortune 500 planning to directly sponsor the convention. ManpowerGroup and Kohl’s are not.

ManpowerGroup told CNBC it is supporting the nonprofit Milwaukee 2024 Host Committee through donations to the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce (MMAC).

“We have not directly provided funds to the RNC but rather MMAC has provided funds on our and others behalf, just like they did for the DNC [Democratic National Convention],” a  spokeswoman  said.

Northwestern Mutual is on the host committee and its CEO  John Schlifske  is reportedly helping to raise money for the group.

Trump narrowly won Wisconsin in his first presidential campaign in 2016. But he lost the state to President Joe Biden in 2020. The state is viewed by both Republicans and Democrats as a must-win this November.

Kohl’s has not funded either the Republican or Democratic conventions for over a decade, according to Federal Election Commission filings.

In 2002, the company donated $10,000 to the Republican National Committee’s state elections committee, with funds mostly dedicated to GOP state parties, according to FEC records. The state’s late Democratic senator, Herb Kohl, was president of his family-founded company until the late 1970s.

The absence of Kohl’s from the list of Republican convention sponsors is notable, given that convention organizers have publicly touted the importance of Wisconsin-based companies helping to fund and organize the event.

Former Trump chief of staff Reince Priebus, who is chair of the city’s host committee, told  The Wall Street Journal  that virtually all of Wisconsin’s Fortune 500 companies have pledged financial support. The Republican convention is aiming to raise roughly $70 million.

Representatives for the Republican National Committee and the Milwaukee host committee did not return requests for comment.

Kohl’s’ decision to hold off on donating to the convention coincides with the company’s renewed effort to find its footing in a competitive market.

Kohl’s is chasing a turnaround and trying to capitalize on its locations in suburban strip malls, especially as rival Macy’s  closes about 150 of its namesake stores .

Yet, the company’s sales have been shrinking and it has  relied on an aging customer base  as it competes with an expanding field of retail competitors, including Target, Shein and Amazon.

Kohl’s stock  tumbled more than 20%  earlier this month, after it missed Wall Street’s expectations for earnings and revenue.

It’s been trying to woo younger shoppers by opening more Sephora shops inside of Kohl’s, adding Babies R Us shops and expanding its mix of trendier merchandise, such as more fashion-forward apparel and a larger department of home décor.

More from CNBC:

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Documents Undercut False Electors’ Claim It Was a Contingency Plan

Emails, texts in state's case against plotters suggest goal was to sow chaos before Jan. 6.

Tear gas outside the United States Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Photo by Tyler Merbler from USA, ( CC BY 2.0 ), via Wikimedia Commons

For months, participants in Wisconsin’s false electors scheme — in which 10 Republicans signed official-looking documentation attesting that former President Donald Trump won Wisconsin in 2020, although he had lost — have maintained that they were developing a contingency plan in the face of pending legal action.

But documents cited in the criminal complaint brought against three alleged masterminds behind that scheme, filed by Attorney General Josh Kaul earlier this week, appear to contradict that claim.

Attorneys Kenneth Chesebro and James Troupis exchanged emails suggesting that they weren’t depending on court cases to grant them cause to submit false slates of electors from certain key swing states on January 6, 2021, the Constitutionally mandated date for certifying an election.

And political operative Michael Roman used colorful language when rejecting the idea of including a qualifier on the false elector sheet that it should be treated as a backup.

“There’s a lot more documentation that the Attorney General here in Wisconsin has been able to sort of comb through to see the communication that this was intentional, and that there was a plan,” said Lilly Goren , a political scientist at Carroll University in Waukesha. “It wasn’t, you know, a kind of like, ‘Oh, let’s just try this and see if it works.”

That’s the argument Kaul put forward when he charged Chesebro, Troupis and Roman with one felony charge each of forgery on Tuesday. Chesebro and Roman have also been indicted elsewhere for their alleged role developing and executing the strategy, which was first developed in Wisconsin.

Troupis, then the lead Wisconsin attorney for Trump’s campaign, and Chesebro appeared to have used Wisconsin as a testing ground  for a novel legal strategy arguing that courts, state legislatures or even the Vice President — acting in his role as president of the U.S. Senate — could determine a state’s election results.

In a Dec. 8, 2020 email cited in Kaul’s criminal complaint, Chesebro tells Troupis that providing alternate electors could be a way of exerting “leverage” on Congress.

“Court challenges pending on Jan. 6 really not necessary,” Chesebro wrote.

In a Dec. 12, 2020, a text message between Roman and Chesebro, Chesebro said he thought that language should be appended to the electors documents clarifying that they are not official.

“I don’t,” Roman responded.  “f— these guys”

Roman, a longtime conservative opposition researcher and later Trump White House staffer, is alleged to have delivered the false documentation to Congress on January 6, 2021, the day of the deadly U.S. Capitol riots.

The criminal complaint says that Pennsylvania’s false elector documents did include that distinguishing language.

“And so there’s some discussion about whether some of the electors were aware” that they weren’t creating a contingency, said Goren, the political scientist. “One of the other persons casting one of the fake elector votes noted that they knew that the court had finished its decision that morning, in fact, and that there were no more pending legal issues in Wisconsin.”

State electors — both true and false — met on the Constitutionally determined date of December 14 to cast their electoral college votes. Earlier that same day, before anyone signed documents at the Wisconsin state Capitol in Madison, the Wisconsin Supreme Court had rejected a lawsuit filed by Troupis asking for Biden ’s victory in the state to be overturned .

Former Wisconsin Republican Party Chair Andrew Hitt , who was one of the false electors, has said the group, acting on the advice of lawyers, had been “tricked.”

Roman, Troupis and the Trump campaign did not respond to WPR’s requests for comment. Chesebro could not be reached for comment.

False electors scheme allegedly led to Jan. 6 violence

In civil and criminal complaints against false electors in multiple states, prosecutors have argued their actions paved the way for the deadly day of chaos at the U.S. Capitol when pro-Trump rioters stormed the building.

U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson , D-Mississippi, who chairs a U.S. House committee investigating the events of that day, has said the “alternative” slates of electors were intended to delay or block certification of the election that day.

Wisconsin now joins four other states — Nevada, Georgia, Arizona and Michigan — where criminal charges have been filed against people involved in false electors schemes.

On Friday, Roman pleaded not guilty to nine felony charges in Arizona. He and Trump’s former chief of staff Mark Meadows , along with others, have been charged in Phoenix for allegedly working across states to enact the scheme.

Chesebro and Roman have also been charged in the election interference case in Georgia, where Chesebro has pleaded guilty to one felony count of conspiracy to commit filing false documents.

In March, Chesebro and Troupis also settled a Wisconsin civil lawsuit brought against them in 2022. As part of that agreement, the two men admitted no “liability or culpability,” but said they would not submit false electors in the future.

The ten individuals who acted as electors, which included sitting Wisconsin Elections Commissioner Bob Spindell and Hitt, the former GOP Chair, also separately settled that lawsuit. In the settlement, the group admitted no wrongdoing but said their actions had been used to lay the groundwork for the deadly attempted insurrection of Jan. 6.

That lawsuit, brought by the progressive law firm Law Forward , led to the release of a trove of documents , some cited in Kaul’s complaint. It included an email from Chesebro to Troupis just days after the election, suggesting that they could create a “cloud of confusion” that would remove Wisconsin’s votes, and potentially votes from Michigan and Pennsylvania, from consideration — thus “throw(ing) the election to the (U.S.) House.”

Chesebro, Troupis and Roman’s first court appearance in the Wisconsin case will be on Sept. 19. The charges carry a potential fine of up to $10,000 and imprisonment of up to six years.

False electors’ communications counter ‘contingency’ argument was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.

If you think stories like this are important, become a member of Urban Milwaukee and help support real, independent journalism. Plus you get some cool added benefits .

More about the False Electors

• Documents Undercut False Electors’ Claim It Was a Contingency Plan - Anya van Wagtendonk - Jun 9th, 2024
• Congresswoman Gwen Moore Statement on Charges for Those Involved in Fake Electors’ Scheme - U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore - Jun 4th, 2024
• Attorney General Kaul Announces Charge Against Chesebro, Roman, Troupis in Connection with Alleged Unappointed Electors Conspiracy - Wisconsin Department of Justice - Jun 4th, 2024
• Pocan Applauds WI AG for Bringing Charges Against Fake Electors - U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan - Jun 4th, 2024
• Leaders of 2020 Wisconsin Fake Electors Scheme Charged With Felonies - Anya van Wagtendonk and Sarah Lehr - Jun 4th, 2024
• Back in the News: Josh Kaul Investigating Fake Electors? - Bruce Murphy - Apr 17th, 2024
• Democratic Proposal Would Bar Fake Electors From Serving As Election Officials - Anya van Wagtendonk - Mar 21st, 2024
• Documents Suggest Trump Fake Elector Scheme Originated In Wisconsin - Rich Kremer - Mar 8th, 2024
• Lawyers Who Conceived and Executed the 2020 Fake Elector Scheme Agree Not to Participate in a Similar Scheme in Any Future Presidential Election - Law Forward - Mar 4th, 2024
• Former Wisconsin GOP Chair Said He Feared Trump Supporters During Fake Elector Scheme - Robert D'Andrea - Feb 19th, 2024

Read more about False Electors here

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The Republican National Convention Kicks Off Next Month, and It's Looking A Little Messy

By Katie Herchenroeder

With the Republican National Convention just over a month away, party officials and Milwaukee leaders are still dealing with logistical troubles, including security concerns , sponsorships , and marketing goofs .

Taking place in downtown Milwaukee from July 15-18, more than 50,000 people, including an estimated 2,429 Republican delegates, will descend upon southeastern Wisconsin to watch former President Donald Trump, who, as of May 30, was convicted of 34 felonies , accept the GOP nomination to be on the ballot in the November general election—that is, if his July 11 sentencing date in New York doesn’t get in the way.

“We expect President Trump will be here to accept the nomination—we’re very excited about that,” RNC Chairman Michael Whatley said this week during a press conference hosted at the main convention site in the Badger State. “Obviously, if we need to make contingent plans, we will.”

A Manhattan jury found Trump guilty last month of falsifying documents to cover up a hush money payment to Stormy Daniels, a porn star, ahead of the 2016 election. He is the first former U.S. president to be convicted of a crime.

Trump’s attendance, as is to be expected, means heightened security concerns. The safety of the convention sites, attendees, and protestors has been a point of contention for RNC organizers, local legislators, and the Secret Service.

Attempts to ban firearms from the convention sites, where items like tennis balls and gas masks are prohibited, have failed due to concerns over violating state laws or riling up Trump’s pro-gun base.

More than 70 groups have signed up to demonstrate against the convention through the city’s official portal, so far. This March, the Milwaukee Common Council unanimously signed off on rules that would require protestors within a designated security zone to march along a specified route.

Then, in April, RNC counsel Todd Steggerda asked in a letter to the Secret Service for protestors to be pushed even further away from the convention, saying that the current plan “creates an elevated and untenable safety risk to the attending public.”

The Coalition to March on the RNC, comprised of dozens of organizations, and the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin filed a lawsuit over the ordinance on Wednesday, claiming that the city’s rules violate protestors’ free speech rights.

“Milwaukee has been rolling out the red carpet for the Republican National Convention and all its attendees, spending millions on their security,” Tim Muth , a staff attorney with the ACLU, said this week. “But sadly, the city does not appear to demonstrate that same commitment to protecting the First Amendment rights of people who want to express opposing views on the streets of Milwaukee during the RNC.”

The head of the Secret Service, Kimberly Cheatle , said on Thursday that security plans have yet to be finalized.

Safety concerns aren’t the only thing organizers are wrestling with.

Milwaukee-based department store giant Kohl’s announced it will not sponsor any events related to the RNC. This comes as organizers have hyped up the number of local companies that are financially supporting the convention.

Trump’s former chief of staff and current chair of Milwaukee’s host committee, Reince Priebus , told the Wall Street Journal that nearly all of the Fortune 500 companies in Wisconsin are sponsoring the event.

According to Federal Election Commission filings, Kohl’s hasn’t funded Republican or Democratic conventions for over a decade.

Still, the company’s decision spurred swift social media backlash, with some on the right calling for a boycott of the company. “Conservatives, you know what to do: BOYCOTT KOHL’S. IT WILL BE JUST LIKE BUD LIGHT, TARGET & DISNEY WORLD,” one user posted on X; “@Kohls you are about to go out of business” another shared .

For Milwaukee, this is a second chance to be in the political spotlight. The city hosted the Democratic National Convention in 2020 , but was thwarted by the COVID-19 pandemic, forcing the event to go virtual as the virus continued to ravage the nation.

Wisconsin is also proving to be a key battleground state in 2024, as it has been previously, and Republican organizers are trying to capitalize on the moment. In 2016, Trump beat Hillary Clinton in the state by just shy of 23,000 votes. Then, in 2020, now President Joe Biden won Wisconsin by about 21,000 votes, or less than one percentage point.

The RNC’s website is literally counting down the minutes until the quadrennial convention kicks off, although earlier this week, it received a lot of attention for all the wrong reasons: it mistakenly used a photo of Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam instead of Milwaukee.

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President joe biden tours business, speaks in milwaukee.

The president's visit comes just days before the Republican presidential debate in Milwaukee

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President Joe Biden arrived in Milwaukee Tuesday morning to do a tour and make remarks at Ingeteam Inc.

After getting of the plane, he went over and shook hands with some children.

He arrived at Ingeteam, a renewable energy company at about 12:21 p.m., where he shook hands with some employees and then toured the facility.

"When I ran for president, I made a promise that I would leave no one behind, no part of the country I would leave behind," Biden said. "A lot of Democrats are getting mad at me because we're investing more in red states instead of blue states right now. But they're all Americans, and I made a promise."

Other politicians spoke before Biden, including Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson, U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore, U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin and Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers.

During the address, Biden took jabs at Wisconsin's Republican Sen. Ron Johnson but not the GOP front-runner, former President Donald Trump.

"Let's find the cheapest place to make our product, let's shut down the operation in America and send it overseas and then send the refined product back to America and sell it here," Biden said. "That's their philosophy. But you know how believes that? Your significant senator, Ron Johnson."

Biden also didn't address the last indictment targeting Trump.

"Because we don't talk about ongoing criminal investigations, we've been very clear," White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. "What the president believes, he's a president for folks who live in the blue states, the red states. He's going to rural America, urban America, and he's going to talk about issues."

The president's visit comes just days before the Republican Presidential Debate Aug. 23, also in Milwaukee.

A statement released by the White House said the president's visit coincides with the first anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act.

Watch the president's remarks:

The first GOP debate is being held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Here's why that matters

In a few weeks, all eyes will be on Milwaukee, Wisconsin as the 2024 Republican candidates hit the stage Aug. 23 for the first GOP primary debate.

Wisconsin, a key battleground state, was the site of previous debates for both the Democratic and Republican parties in the 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns. Former President Donald Trump, the GOP frontrunner, has also held many rallies there.

Along with the first GOP debate of the 2024 election cycle, the Republican National Committee will also hold the party’s nominating convention in Wisconsin next year.

Stay in the conversation on politics:  Sign up for the OnPolitics newsletter

“I am so excited to bring the world into Milwaukee, not just for the Republican Party, but to help businesses and business owners to highlight a bipartisan effort to do great things for this urban community,” Ronna McDaniel, the committee’s chair, told Wisconsin Public Radio.

Prep for the polls: See who is running for president and compare where they stand on key issues in our Voter Guide

The debate will be hosted by Fox News, Young America's Foundation and Rumble. It will be held at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, according to a Fox News press release.

Here's a rundown of why the debate is in Wisconsin:

Wisconsin: a 'tipping point' state in 2024

Wisconsin is widely viewed as one of the most politically competitive states in the country, according to Barry Burden , director of the Elections Research Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He said that since the presidential election is decided by the electoral count rather than the popular vote, a shift of even a small number of votes in Wisconsin could help determine who is elected.

"Several analysts are already predicting that Wisconsin will the 'tipping point' state that decides when one of the tickets crosses the crucial threshold of 270 electoral votes," Burden said. "For these reasons the major parties and candidates are laser-focused on the Badger State."

Unlike some states such as Georgia and Minnesota which sometimes have close presidential outcomes, Wisconsin is unique for consistently having tight elections, according to Burden. He said that the margin between two frontrunners was often less than 1% in four of the six elections held between 2000 and 2020, and that only two victories from former President Barack Obama stand out as “sizable wins for one candidate.”

The state has also seen several close elections below the presidential level. For instance, Democratic Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers beat his opponent, Scott Walker, by a margin of 1.1% in 2018. Likewise, U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) defeated Democrat opponent Mandela Barnes in the 2022 midterm election by 1%.

"As the first debate of the 2024 nomination season, the Milwaukee event has the potential to alter the trajectory of the Republican contest," Burden said. "For many viewers it will be the first time they have seen lower-tier candidates such as Tim Scott and Nikki Haley, who will have an opportunity to break out of the pack with notable performance."

Typically, a primary debate will not have a determinative effect in a state, according to Kenneth Mayer,  a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. For instance, he said that one couldn't point to the November 2015 debate and attribute Trump's win to that.

"There are a lot of moving parts, and it's not clear how many candidates will actually qualify or whether Trump will agree to appear," Mayer said.

Republican debate puts a spotlight on Milwaukee

Choosing Milwaukee for a presidential primary debate "helps with state party building, encourages candidates to pay attention to the state, reflects the importance of the Milwaukee suburbs to GOP prospects statewide and boosts the visibility of the primary," Mayer said.

Milwaukee has a little less than 600,000 people so the debate will bring an “enormous profile” to the city, according to Wisconsin Republican Party Chairman Brian Schimming.

“It's not just local or regional or state or national profile. It’s international profile because this debate is covered internationally,” Schimming told USA TODAY. “So we're gonna have people literally in from all over the world not just for the conduction, but for the debate. So I look forward to that, for Milwaukee sake, I think for the state party.”

Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson said that the debate will also help businesses on the ground raise money and take advantage of the opportunity to drive massive numbers of people to support local tourism hospitality. Around the time of the nominating convention, Milwaukee will have implemented a sales tax so visitors will also have to pay for the services they received in the city.

Overall, the debate gives voters a chance to be more politically engaged, Johnson said.

I think folks in the state will pay attention to the happenings of the convention, will have a better line of sight as to what the eventual nominee will say and seek to do, were he or she to be elected president of the United States," Johnson said. "Doesn't necessarily mean that they'll win Wisconsin though."

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White   House Announces Juneteenth   Concert

The President and First Lady to Host a Juneteenth Concert on Monday, June 10, 2024

The White House announced today a Juneteenth Concert on Monday, June 10. The South Lawn concert will be a celebration of community, culture and music.

In 2021, President Biden signed bipartisan legislation establishing Juneteenth as the nation’s newest Federal holiday, so that all Americans can feel the power of this day, learn from our history, celebrate our progress, and recognize and engage in the work that continues.  

Since taking office, President Biden has worked to advance racial equity and ensure the promise of America for Black Americans. See a fact sheet on the Biden-Harris Administration’s ongoing efforts to advance equity and opportunity for Black Americans and communities across the country here .   This concert celebration will also take place during  Black Music Month , where the Biden-Harris Administration will uplift American art forms that sing to the soul of the American experience.

This event is supported by: The President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities, Institute for Museum and Library Services, STARZ #TakeTheLead Initiative, Adobe, LVMH North America’s Moët & Chandon and Hennessy USA and will feature:

• Raheem DeVaughn
• Kirk Franklin
• Doug E. Fresh
• Anthony Hamilton
• Gladys Knight
• Patti LaBelle
• Patina Miller
• Brittney Spencer
• Trombone Shorty
• Charlie Wilson
• Roy Wood, Jr.
• “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band

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