Dem
51
GOP
49
As we note above, one of Donald Trump's many off-the-cuff remarks while meeting with Congressional Republicans yesterday was an attack on the city of Milwaukee, which just so happens to be the site of this year's Republican National Convention. Despite the fact that the RNC is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Trump Organization, and that Trump could theoretically demand that the convention be held in any city he chooses, he's apparently unhappy with the selection. And so, during his time with the House Republican Conference, he said: "Milwaukee, where we are having our convention, is a horrible city."
This might not have been the best choice of words, given that the convention is imminent and that Wisconsin is a swing state. And so, the spin/cleanup operation began immediately. Here's the response from Trump spokesman Steven Cheung, posted to Twitter almost instantaneously after the news broke:
Wrong. Total bull**it. He never said it like how it's been falsely characterized as. He was talking about how terrible crime and voter fraud are.
Grammar and clarity are not Cheung's strong suits.
In any event, once it was proven that Trump did say those exact words (based on reports from multiple people who were in the room), then other Republicans picked up the ball and leaned into the "I know you think you understand what you thought I said but I'm not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant" defense. That is to say, Republicans—and, in particular, Wisconsin Republicans—declared that when Trump said Milwaukee was a "horrible city," he didn't mean it's a horrible city, he merely meant that it's a city with out-of-control crime and massive voter fraud. Well, glad we cleared that up, because that's MUCH less insulting, right?
There are two lessons here. The first, which is a repeat from the previous item, is that the Trumpublican wing will do anything for Trump, regardless of how bad his behavior is. The man insulted Ted Cruz's wife and father, and what does Cruz do? Give him a gratuitously long standing ovation (see above). The man took a needless potshot at Wisconsin's best-known city, and what do Wisconsin Republicans do? Bend over backward to explain how Trump has a good point here.
The second lesson is that Trump has a very bad habit of saying impolitic things and shooting himself in the foot. In what way did he benefit from slurring Milwaukee? And, in our view, he's getting worse about this. Is it because he's angry about being a felon? Is it because he's convinced himself he no longer needs to be careful? Is it because his mental acuity is slipping? We don't know. But what we do know is that these screw-ups are going to get more and more attention as campaign season shifts into full gear. And while there is nothing Trump can do to lose the 40% of voters who are True Believers, he absolutely can and will hurt himself with the swingy voters, some of whom he needs if he wants to win. (Z)