House Republicans are denying reports that former President Donald Trump on Thursday disparaged Milwaukee, the host city of the Republican National Convention in July.
Jake Sherman, founder of Punchbowl News, posted on X about the comments Trump allegedly made during a private meeting with House Republicans at the Capitol Hill Club on Thursday.
“Milwaukee, where we’re having our convention, is a terrible city,” Sherman quoted Trump as saying. No media was present at the meeting, so Sherman likely heard the remark secondhand. But he said he didn’t attribute the remark to any source, even an anonymous one.
🚨 Trump to House Republicans:
“Milwaukee, where we’re hosting the tournament, is a terrible city.”
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) June 13, 2024
Rep. Jim Banks (R-Indiana) blasted the report as false.
“I was at the meeting and President Trump has never disparaged Milwaukee,” Banks wrote in X’s post.
He added:[j]”Another Democratic hoax.”
I was at a conference and President Trump never disrespected Milwaukee.
It’s just a Democratic hoax.
— Jim Banks (@Jim_Banks) June 13, 2024
Representatives from Wisconsin also slammed Sherman’s reporting.
“I was in the room. President Trump never said that,” Rep. Brian Steil (R-Wis.) said in a post on X. “There’s no better place to be than Wisconsin in July.”
I was in the room. President Trump said no such thing. There’s no better place to be than Wisconsin in July. https://t.co/MJUpqyAt4G
— Bryan Steele (@RepBryanSteil) June 13, 2024
Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.) said Sherman’s tweet “[a]This is a classic example of poor reporting by Democratic shills masquerading as journalists.”
Another classic example of terrible reporting by Democrat shills posing as journalists.
Lies are busy omissions. Donald Trump He was specifically referring to Milwaukee’s crime rate. https://t.co/lOB06vBD5e pic.twitter.com/UpL3HYMyJy
— Derrick Van Orden (@derrickvanorden) June 13, 2024
Rep. Glenn Grothman of Wisconsin told me that Trump made these comments while speaking about the election.
Grossman said Trump was “concerned about the election in MKE” and “felt he needed to work harder in urban areas across the country.” https://t.co/MWwk1a9BK0
— Lawrence Gandrea (@lawrencegandrea) June 13, 2024
Sources also told The Daily Caller’s chief national reporter Henry Rogers that the 45th president made no such remarks.
Sherman responded to Van Alden’s tweet. Claim, “Trump said what he said and people will hear what they want to hear.”
Jason Miller, a senior adviser to the 45th president, and campaign spokesman Steven Chang both called the report “bullshit.”
No. That’s complete bullshit. He never said anything as it has been mischaracterized. He was talking about how bad crime and voter fraud is. https://t.co/BH0Q7exswB
— Steven Cheung (@TheStevenCheung) June 13, 2024
“No. This is complete bullshit. He never said anything that has been falsely said. He was talking about how bad crime and voter fraud are,” Chen wrote.
In other words, bullshit! https://t.co/pdAiBdGrY6
— Jason Miller (@JasonMillerinDC) June 13, 2024
“I’ve heard Trump never said that,” Rogers wrote, to which Miller reposted the post, saying: “In other words, bullshit!”
“He was explicitly referring to issues in Milwaukee, specifically violent crime and voter fraud,” Dylan Johnson, deputy communications director for the Trump campaign, said in an emailed statement.
