OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is all but guaranteed to host the 2024 Republican National Convention.
“Today, the Site Selection Committee voted to recommend Milwaukee to host the 2024 Republican National Convention and it is a testament to the forthright and professional behavior embraced by Milwaukee’s city leaders throughout the process. A final decision will be made by Chairwoman [Ronna] McDaniel and the full RNC in the coming weeks.” RNC senior adviser Richard Walters said in a statement.
The location choice is a significant one for Republicans given Wisconsin is a battleground state. President Joe Biden barely won the state by less than a percentage point in 2020 and former President Donald Trump won the state in the 2016 presidential election.
Wisconsin officials have been pushing to host the event, touting it as a swing state.
“I don’t agree with everything in the Republicans’ platform. I disagree with the party’s stance on a huge range of issues,” Milwaukee’s Democrat Mayor Cavalier Johnson said during a news conference. “That being said, Republicans will host the convention somewhere in the United States in two years. I want the economic benefits.”
Johnson said attracting the convention is also intended to set the city up for more major events in the future.
“The benefits … to keep Milwaukee in the limelight nationally and globally I think far outweigh the negatives here,” he said.
“The national party realizes the importance of Wisconsin in the elections that are coming up,” said Wisconsin Republican Party state chair Paul Farrow.
Many on social media voiced concerns and criticisms about the location choice.
Oh great. Getting the old gang together… Reince Priebus, Paul Ryan… 🙄 -> RNC Committee Chooses Milwaukee to Host 2024 Convention https://t.co/jVhUeFQPKy
— 🇺🇸 PouncerNC (@PouncerNC_USA) July 17, 2022
The same city whose baseball team recently hosted a drag show! What could possibly go wrong?!?! https://t.co/OvDlIAzypE
— Lenny Dykstra (@LennyDykstra) July 25, 2022
RNC Committee Chooses Milwaukee to Host 2024 Convention https://t.co/3icztyKneE
Why did the choice come down to 2 Dem-run cities: Nashville and Milwaukee? That seems to be very RINO.
Why don't they just have it in NYC and call it a day.— Gary Grover (@gjgrover44) July 17, 2022
Get ready for Milwaukee liberals heads to explode. RNC has stated that they recommend the 2024 convention be held in Milwaukee. There have already been crybabies voicing there dislike. 😂
— Boat_Captain_Stove (@sbar62) July 15, 2022
The city and state that helped steal 2020. What a great reward from @GOPChairwoman .
How fkn stupid. https://t.co/NPVfZtfSLw
— The Patriot Hammer (@patriot_hammer) July 17, 2022
RNC Committee Chooses Milwaukee to Host 2024 Convention https://t.co/Rc4cV7yhh2
What is wrong with these people? The RNC & the Gopee's need to look around the room.— Ultra MAGA JACKPHAT (@jackphatz) July 16, 2022
Over the weekend, former President Donald Trump dominated the 2024 GOP presidential nomination straw poll at the Turning Point USA Student Action Summit.
TPUSA polled attendees by asking who they would vote for in 2024 if Trump decided to launch another White House run.
A whopping 78.7% of attendees said they would vote for Trump with 19% saying they would vote for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Trump spoke at the conference Saturday night and dropped another hint that he’s going to run in 2024.
Teasing his own possible 2024 run, Trump said, “now we may just have to do it again.”
“If I stayed home, if I announced that I was not going to run for office, the persecution of Donald Trump would immediately stop,” Trump also said later in the speech. “But that’s what they want me to do. And you know what? There’s no chance I do that.”
Trump hit on social issues and cultural controversies, including critical race theory.
“Across the United States, we need to implement strict prohibitions on teaching inappropriate racial, sexual, and political material to America’s children in any form,” he said.
“You would not trust these people to babysit your children for 20 minutes. And why should we then let them educate millions of American students six hours a day, year, after year, after year,” he added.
“The radical left attacks those corporations by putting boycotts on them, and for some reason, Republicans and the right they don’t do that,” he said. “The only way to stop this extremism and get radical politics out of corporate boardrooms and human resource departments is if we do to the left exactly what the left does to us.”
Trump closed his speech by going after President Joe Biden, saying his re-election slogan of “Keep America Great” is now outdated and that, “we will make America great again.”
