Milwaukee prepares for Republican convention, despite tense political moment

Transcript

SCOTT DETROW, HOST:

As one politically momentous week comes to an end and another begins, we are going to reflect on all of that with two of NPR's correspondents, NPR's Franco Ordoñez and Ximena Bustillo. And thanks to both of you joining me from Milwaukee, where you're in place to cover the Republican National Convention. Ximena, I'm going to start with you. What did it feel like to be in Milwaukee last night and this morning?

XIMENA BUSTILLO, BYLINE: Hey, Scott. So last night, the site of the convention, I went down there with a colleague, and it was fairly empty. That's to be expected. Delegates, GOP lawmakers, folks who are expected to come in to downtown Milwaukee for the Republican National Convention are still flying in this weekend. But I did run into a few folks who are here to attend the convention as delegates or just general supporters of Trump. One man was Cooper Walden from Illinois, and he quickly got the news of the shooting through social media, and he felt pulled to the city center.

COOPER WALDEN: I feel more passionately than ever. Like I said, I was, like, 30 minutes from here, and as soon as I heard the news, I came down here as quick as I could just to be here among like-minded people and Trump supporters and really just get out here and show my support.

BUSTILLO: This morning, I went to a parade in Sussex in Waukesha County. This is one suburban county in Wisconsin that has historically been Republican-leaning but in recent presidential elections has begun to trend more towards Democrats as those margins have gotten tighter. A lot of the folks I talked to said that they heard about the news of the assassination attempt, particularly from social media platforms such as TikTok or Instagram. Still, people came out to the parade with their families, and they clapped and cheered for the Waukesha County GOP float that went by. But the political mood elsewhere has definitely shifted. Democrats have canceled some events tonight. The Biden campaign has vowed to pull its TV ads. This afternoon, Turning Point USA held a vigil in Milwaukee with about 100 people attending. The group has been really key in helping mobilize voters for Trump.

DETROW: Now, Franco, what have you been hearing from the campaign and what has Trump been saying?

FRANCO ORDOÑEZ, BYLINE: Scott, you went through some of it a little earlier. I mean, he's been speaking out via social media. This morning, for example, he said that God alone prevented the unthinkable from happening, meaning the attempted assassination. You know, he - thanking supporters for their thoughts and prayers and called on them to, quote, "remain resilient in our faith and defiant in the face of wickedness." I have been in touch with the campaign as well, asking about his call with President Biden. A source told me that, you know, it was short and respectful, which is very closely mirrored to what the White House said about the call, calling it short but good.

DETROW: Yeah. And let's talk about this convention, which was already going to be a high-profile moment with a lot of attention. You have to imagine there's going to be even more attention on the convention right now. Tell us all that's set to take place this week.

ORDOÑEZ: Yeah, despite all the events, there's a lot of business that needs to be taken care of. I mean, this is an official chance for party officials on the state and national level to get together, where they go through the nominations for each individual state, and they ultimately go through the nominations for president and vice president. Of course, it's also about building momentum. There are a lot of speeches. You know, everybody we've been talking about is waiting to see who former President Trump picks for vice president. That person is scheduled to speak on Wednesday. You know, there are - several of those people, whether they are picked or not, have time slots to speak on the stage. That list includes Senators Tim Scott, Marco Rubio, J.D. Vance, also former North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum. And also, Scott, we learned today that former President Trump's former rival for the Republican nomination, Nikki Haley, has also been confirmed that she will be speaking on Tuesday.

DETROW: And this is going to be the first time in decades that a vice presidential pick is not named before the convention begins. Ximena, any change in Trump's schedule with the convention?

BUSTILLO: Well, Trump took to social media this earlier this afternoon, Truth Social, to say that he cannot allow, quote, "shooter to force a change in schedule." So instead of postponing arriving to Wisconsin, he's leaving to Milwaukee today. So as far as anticipating whether or not he will speak, that's still the plan. According to his schedule, he might be on his way here right now.

DETROW: Any sense of whether this attempted assassination will change the messaging for the week?

ORDOÑEZ: You know, Scott, there is some uncertainty about that. You know, The Wisconsin RNC says that events will go on, that there's no major changes to the schedule, though victims will be honored. But, you know, let's be real. This is something that is going to be talked about in and around the convention. It's going to be part of floor speeches. You can bet that former President Trump will discuss it during his speech. You know, I think what is less clear about this is kind of how that will be framed. You know, we've been talking a lot about these kind of things. Will this be more of kind of a moment of reflection and responsibility, say, about political violence and the violent rhetoric that we have been hearing so much of? Or, for example, is this going to be more of a rallying cry that perhaps will lead to even more heated rhetoric?

DETROW: Yeah. Yeah. And any sense about whether security is going to change?

ORDOÑEZ: Well, Secret Service was talking today - says there'll be no major changes in the security footprint and protocol. President Biden did say in his remarks earlier today about the shooting that he's called on Secret Service to review security for the convention. I mean, I can tell you, though, that there is a lot of security here already. And it feels like it's increasing by the hour every hour since the afternoon has progressed. You know, in addition to Secret Service and Milwaukee police, you know, we're seeing local law enforcement officers from around the country. You know, my colleagues and I have met cops from D.C., from North Carolina and Oregon. You know, this is something that, you know, security was always going to be tight, and I think the attention to it is going to be higher regardless.

DETROW: And Ximena, this is a very important state for the presidential election. Any sense yet from your reporting in the last day or so of whether this changes the tone of things in Wisconsin?

BUSTILLO: Well, ultimately, Wisconsin is a swing state. So how voters are or are not paying attention to the political news cycle, what issues they are weighing, whether it is political violence or security, or how they experience politics and policy is really going to make a difference here. And we've seen that Republicans and Democrats have spent months creating a ground game to mobilize voters. You know, four years ago, Biden won the state by just 20,000 votes, flipping it from Trump in 2016. And so really, like, many election questions yet to be seen. But the conversations, the news cycle will hit different here than it might in other states.

DETROW: Yeah. That is NPR's Ximena Bustillo as well as Franco Ordoñez. They are in Milwaukee ahead of the Republican National Convention. Thanks so much to both of you.

BUSTILLO: Thank you.

ORDOÑEZ: Thank you, Scott.

DETROW: And stay with NPR throughout the week. We will be bringing you coverage of the key speeches and moments at that convention.

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