Midwest
Trump eyes 2 battleground states as he looks to tear down Dem 'blue wall' again
Donald Trump is making the most of his day off from court this week.
With the judge in the former president’s first criminal trial using Wednesdays to handle other business from other cases he’s handling, Trump is heading to two crucial states that may decide the winner of his 2024 rematch with President Biden.
Trump is making campaign stops in Wisconsin and Michigan, two crucial battlegrounds he narrowly captured in his 2016 presidential election victory but where he fell short four years later as he lost his re-election bid.
It’s the former president’s second swing through the two Great Lakes swing states in a month.
“Those two states are absolutely essential to both campaigns, followed pretty closely by Pennsylvania,” longtime Republican strategist and presidential campaign veteran David Kochel said. “Those are two states where the Trump campaign should live.”
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Former President Trump speaks at a rally in Green Bay, Wisconsin, on April 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Mike Roemer)
Trump’s unexpected victories in Michigan and Wisconsin, along with Pennsylvania, over 2016 Democrat presidential nominee Hillary Clinton shattered the so-called “blue wall” of states that Democrats had counted on for nearly a quarter-century.
And Trump’s victories in all three states symbolized his ability to flip blue-collar voters, giving the GOP hopes of a long-lasting electoral realignment in the so-called Rust Belt.
But four years later, Biden narrowly captured all three states as his party partially reconstructed the “blue wall.” And Democrats won gubernatorial elections that same year in Michigan and Wisconsin – flipping Republican-held governors’ offices – and in 2022 flipped a crucial Senate seat in Pennsylvania that was vital to keeping their majority in the chamber.
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While they’re enjoying a winning streak, Democrats are taking nothing for granted. Many recent polls suggest Trump holds a slight edge over Biden in all three states.
“It’s no surprise to anyone that Michigan and Wisconsin are important Midwest battleground states for November. President Trump is leading in both because Biden’s failure and weakness is felt in every town and city,” Trump campaign senior adviser Brian Hughes told Fox News.
Trump’s first stop on Wednesday is Waukesha, Wisconsin, which is about 20 miles west of downtown Milwaukee, where his campaign said the former president will “contrast the peace, prosperity and security of his first term” with what they argue is “Joe Biden’s failed presidency.”
The former president is expected to shine a spotlight on rising prices, which have been a persistent problem for the Biden administration for three years, and on the surge of migrants at the nation’s southern border that has sent shock waves across the country.
Former President Trump gives a speech about crime and border security during a stop in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on April 2, 2024. (Fox News/Paul Steinhauser)
Trump will then hold a rally in the evening in Freeland, Michigan, about 120 miles north of Detroit. During his stop in Grand Rapids, Michigan, a month ago, Trump spoke out against what he called “Biden’s border bloodbath.”
Hughes said that during his stops in Wisconsin and Michigan, Trump will “demonstrate to the people of these states and the nation that he is ready to win and make America great again.”
Biden has made multiple trips to Michigan and Wisconsin this year, and his campaign enjoys a formidable advantage in both states when it comes to organization and ground-game efforts.
“Trump heads to the states with no campaign infrastructure to speak of in either battleground – while President Biden and Democrats have 44 offices in Wisconsin and 30 in Michigan,” Biden’s campaign said in a statement. “Trump’s former minority outreach center in Milwaukee is becoming an ice cream shop.”
President Biden speaks at an event at the Madison Area Technical College’s Truax campus in Wisconsin on April 8, 2024. (AP)
But Biden’s support for Israel in its war with Hamas has strained support among Michigan’s large pool of Arab-American voters. And while the president enjoys plenty of union endorsements, Trump has made inroads with some of the state’s autoworkers as he’s repeatedly targeted Biden’s push for electric vehicles in the battle against climate change.
“There’s a ton of opportunity in Michigan for Trump,” Kochel said. “I think Trump has made a pretty compelling argument on Biden overplaying his hand on EVs and trying to wedge some of those autoworkers away.”
While Trump also spotlights in both states what he characterizes as a surge in crime during the Biden administration, he’s coming under attack from Democrats over the issue of abortion and over his repeated unproven claims that his 2020 election loss was due to voter fraud.
Republican allies of Trump attempted to overturn the 2020 election results in both states by pushing slates of fake electors.
Biden campaign communications director in Wisconsin Brianna Johnson said last week that Trump was coming to the Badger State “in a desperate bid to do damage control on his record of ripping away women’s freedoms and encouraging thousands of rioters to try to violently overturn an election.”
Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
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Midwest
Chicago teacher disappears, husband pleads for help finding her
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A Chicago special education teacher has disappeared, leaving her family fearful and desperate for answers.
Linda Brown, 53, was last seen on Saturday in Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood, police said.
Brown was heading to the Wicker Park area for an acupuncture appointment but never arrived, according to a missing person flyer the Chicago Teachers Union posted online.
Brown’s husband, Antwon Brown, told FOX32 Chicago that he and his wife watched a movie before going to bed early Friday night. When he woke up the next day, Brown was already gone.
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Linda Brown vanished Saturday from Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood, police said. (Chicago Teachers Union)
“I’m broke down, I don’t know what to do,” he told the station. “I’ve done everything. I’m talking to people; we got people searching for her, I’m out of options. I don’t know what to do.”
Linda Brown is a special education teacher at Robert Healy Elementary School in Bridgeport. (Chicago Police Department)
Antwon Brown said that it was out of character for his wife not to show up to the scheduled acupuncture appointment.
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“I woke up at 8:45 a.m. and she was gone,” he said. “She took her purse and credit cards, but I’m thinking she was at acupuncture.”
The family called police on Sunday after multiple calls and messages to Brown went unanswered.
Chicago police said Brown may be in need of medical attention. (Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images, File)
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Antwon Brown said Linda, a special education teacher at Robert Healy Elementary School in Bridgeport, has a history of mental health issues. He said this was the first time she has gone missing.
Police said Brown may be driving a blue Honda Civic with Illinois plates and that she may need medical attention.
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Detroit, MI
Vigil, protest held for Renee Nicole Good at Detroit’s Clark park
Vigil held in Detroit for woman fatally shot by ICE agent in Minnesota
People gather at Detroit’s Clark Park on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026 to host a vigil for Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE agent in Minneapolis.
The name Renee Nicole Good bounced off the buildings of southwest Detroit as hundreds marched on the evening of Friday, Jan. 9, following Good’s fatal shooting by an immigration agent in Minneapolis earlier in the week.
A candlelight vigil was held at 6 p.m. at the city’s Clark Park in memory of Good, before attendees took off marching down Vernor Highway.
As of 7:30 p.m., the mass crowd had reached Cavalry Street, about half a mile away from the park, and turned, yelling “What do we want? Justice ” and calling for ICE’s ousting from communities.
Good, 37, was in her car when she was shot in the head on Wednesday, Jan.7, by a federal immigration officer in south Minneapolis. She leaves behind three children, ages 6, 12 and 15.
The shooting was recorded by witnesses and heightened political and community tensions over federal immigration enforcement as part of President Donald Trump’s nationwide immigration operations. The Trump administration has since said the shooting was done in self-defense, USA TODAY reports.
Protests have occurred in cities across the U.S. since Good’s death, including gatherings in Michigan, and additional demonstrations are scheduled throughout the weekend.
This is a developing story.
Milwaukee, WI
Chief marketing and communication officer named to Milwaukee Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 | Marquette Today
Lynn Griffith, chief marketing and communication officer, was named to the Milwaukee Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 list.
Griffith leads Marquette’s Office of Marketing and Communication, a team of 30 talented professionals who work to elevate and differentiate the Marquette brand via strategy and planning; brand management; media relations; internal communication; presidential communication; social media; issues and crisis management; advertising, digital and creative services; video; and editorial content, including the university’s flagship alumni publication, Marquette Magazine.
Under Griffith’s leadership, Marquette’s marketing and communication team has been recognized for excellence, winning multiple National Collegiate Advertising awards, Circle of Excellence Awards from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, and PRSA Southeastern Wisconsin Chapter Paragon Awards. In 2024, the university’s digital storytelling strategy was named a Ragan’s PR Daily award finalist. Marquette is ranked a top 55 most trusted higher education brand in the U.S. by Morning Consult and its social media is No. 5 in the country for higher education social media engagement by RivalIQ.
During her nine years at Marquette, Griffith has been tapped for multiple university initiatives, including co-chairing the university’s Crisis Management Team, co-leading the university’s Convention Steering Committee ahead of Milwaukee hosting the Republican National Convention in 2024, and serving on Mission Priority Examen and presidential inauguration planning committees.
An engaged member of the Milwaukee community, Griffith serves on the board of directors of Menomonee Valley Partners and on the marketing committee of VISIT Milwaukee. She is a member of TEMPO Milwaukee and the Arthur W. Page Society, as well as the Marquette Mentors leadership council, on which she also serves as a mentor. She recently completed the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities’ 18-month Ignatian Colleagues Program for lay leaders.
Griffith is a two-time graduate of Marquette, earning a Bachelor of Arts in public relations and writing intensive English and a Master of Business Administration.
40 Under 40 honorees were selected based on the impact they have had in their jobs, in the community and on Southeast Wisconsin overall. The Milwaukee Business Journal reviewed hundreds of nominations to curate its 34th 40 Under 40 cohort.
In addition to Griffith, seven alumni were named to the list:
- David Griggs, co-founder of One 5 Olive LLC
- Jordan Komp, senior principal and Milwaukee office director at Thornton Tomasetti Inc.
- Avery Mayne, attorney at von Briesen & Roper, s.c.
- Brian McClaren, principal of H. Knox Development Company
- Emily Tau, director of public affairs for Milwaukee County
- Jessica Shepherd, director of financial planning and analysis at Baird
- Mike Wanezek, partner at Colliers | Wisconsin
The 40 Under 40 honorees will be celebrated in a forthcoming special edition of the Milwaukee Business Journal and at an awards presentation on Wednesday, March 11, at the Baird Center.
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