Uncommon Knowledge
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Wisconsin
Wisconsin Republicans react to Donald Trump calling Milwaukee “horrible”
Wisconsin Republicans reacted to former President Donald Trump reportedly calling Milwaukee “a horrible city” during a closed-door meeting on Thursday.
Trump visited the U.S. Capitol for the first time since his supporters sieged the building on January 6, 2021, in a failed attempt to halt certification of President Joe Biden’s victory. The ex-president met with GOP lawmakers as a precursor to the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee—set for July 15 to July 18—where Trump is expected to be chosen as the party’s nominee.
Jake Sherman, founder of Punchbowl News who covers the Hill, reported on X, formerly Twitter, that Trump told House Republicans on Thursday, “Milwaukee, where we are having our convention, is a horrible city.”
Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung responded to Sherman’s reporting to X on Thursday, writing, “Wrong. Total bull****. He never said it like how it’s been falsely characterized as. He was talking about how terrible crime and voter fraud are.”
Newsweek reached out to Cheung via email for comment on Thursday.
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
House Republicans from Wisconsin defended Trump but shared different interpretations of the former president’s comment.
“Another classic example of s****y reporting by a Democratic Party shill pretending to be a journalist. Lies busy omission. @realDonaldTrump was specifically referring to the crime the CRIME RATE in Milwaukee,” Representative Derrick Van Orden wrote on X.
Van Orden included a photo of a Spectrum News article titled, “Milwaukee ranks third for violent crimes nationwide,” from May 2023.
Sherman shared an April article from Wisconsin Public Radio titled, “Homicides in Milwaukee down nearly 50 percent compared to 2 years ago.”
Some said that Trump was referring to election integrity. After Trump lost to Biden in 2020, he claimed that the election was rigged against him. Biden won Wisconsin by a slim 0.7 percent margin, and there is no evidence to suggest there was election fraud in Wisconsin or any widespread fraud in 2020.
Representative Scott Fitzgerald told Matt Smith, political director of WISN, a Milwaukee ABC affiliate, that Trump’s comment was delivered after a question posed to him about election integrity: “What he was talking about was the elections in Milwaukee. They’re concerned about them.”
Lawrence Andrea, Washington correspondent for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, said on X that Representative Glenn Grothman told him that Trump was “concerned about the election in MKE” and “felt we need to do better in urban centers around the country.”
Representative Bryan Steil said on X: “I was in the room. President Trump did not say this. There is no better place than Wisconsin in July.”
Steil told Smith, “He wasn’t talking about the city. He was talking about specific issues in the city,” before the congressman listed issues such as crime and the public school system but would not say which issues Trump mentioned, according to the clip Smith shared on X.
Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson, a Democrat, told reporters on Thursday, “Donald Trump wants to talk about things that he thinks are horrible, all of us lived through his presidency, so right back at ya, buddy.”
Johnson called Trump “unhinged” for making the comment and said he was “wrong” about Milwaukee.
Biden seized the chance to score some points with Wisconsinites, posting to X on Thursday, “I happen to love Milwaukee,” to which Johnson replied, “Milwaukee loves you back, President Joe Biden!”
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About 1,000 animal welfare activists who tried to gain entry on Saturday to a beagle breeding and research facility in Wisconsin were turned back by police who fired rubber bullets and pepper spray into the crowd and arrested the group’s leader.
It was the second attempt in as many months by protesters to take beagles from the Ridglan Farms facility in Blue Mounds, a small town about 25 miles (about 40 kilometres) southwest of Wisconsin’s capital, Madison.
Dane County Sheriff Kalvin Barrett said in a video statement that 300 to 400 protesters were “violently trying to break into the property” and assault officers. He said protesters have ignored designated areas for peaceful protest and blocked roads to prevent emergency vehicles from entering.
“This is not a peaceful protest,” Barrett said.
The sheriff’s department said a “significant” number of people were arrested out of about 1,000 protesters at the site but did not give an exact total as they were still being processed as of the afternoon.
Protesters tried to overcome barricades that included a manure-filled trench, hay bales and a barbed-wire fence. Some protesters did get through the fence but were unable to enter the facility, where an estimated 2,000 beagles are kept, the Wisconsin State Journal reported.
Wisconsin guard Andrew Rohde reflects on early March Madness exit
Wisconsin guard Andrew Rohde said the Badgers ‘thought we could do so many things’ in the NCAA Tournament before it ended abrupty with an upset loss.
Wisconsin men’s basketball has added a sharpshooting wing via the transfer portal.
Miami (Ohio) transfer Eian Elmer has signed with the Badgers, the team announced April 18. The 6-foot-7 wing will join UW with one year of eligibility remaining.
Elmer averaged a career-high 12.7 points and 5.9 rebounds while shooting 49.8% from the field and 42.9% from 3-point range in 2025-26. His production helped the RedHawks go 32-2 and earn an at-large NCAA Tournament bid.
“We are really excited to add another excellent addition to our spring signees,” UW coach Greg Gard said in a release. “Eian brings a wealth of experience and scoring punch as a 6-7 wing. … A terrific shooter, his skillset and production fit excellently into our plan as we build out next year’s team. Throughout our evaluation process, our staff loved his size, power and skill and truly believe he will thrive in our system.”
Elmer is Wisconsin’s third transfer portal addition since the end of the 2025-26 season, joining former George Washington guard Trey Autry and former Hofstra forward Victory Onuetu. UW also added Australian guard Owen Foxwell.
The additions of Autry, Onuetu and now Elmer leave Gard’s staff with three more roster spots to fill ahead of the 2026-27 season.
The Badgers are looking to replace much of their production from a 2025-26 team that went 24-11. Nolan Winter is expected to be the team’s only returning starter after John Blackwell and Aleksas Bieliauskas entered the transfer portal and Nick Boyd and Andrew Rohde exhausted their eligibility.
MILWAUKEE – Friday’s severe storms have passed. And with that, the threat of any severe weather has also passed for the immediate future as no storms or rain are expected for several days.
However, plenty of damage remains across southeastern Wisconsin as of Saturday morning, in addition to the ongoing flooding threat.
Several area rivers are at flood stage, and there are multiple river flood warnings in effect.
FOX6 Weekend WakeUp on Saturday begins at 6 a.m.
On the scene in the morning
What we know:
Farmstead damage in Franklin
FOX6’s Hayley Spitler is in Franklin on Saturday morning, April 18, getting a daylight look at the damage from last night’s storms.
Storm damage in Caledonia
Friday’s storms left quite the mark across southern and southeastern Wisconsin, including at L and L Farms and Greenhouse in Caledonia.
FOX6 Weather Extras
Local perspective:
Meanwhile, FOX6Now.com offers a variety of extremely useful weather tools to help you navigate the stormy season. They include the following:
FOX6 Storm Center app
FOX LOCAL Mobile app
FOX Weather app
Maps and radar
We have a host of maps and radars on the FOX6 Weather page that are updating regularly — to provide you the most accurate assessment of the weather. From a county-by-county view to the Midwest regional radar and a national view — it’s all there.
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School and business closings
When the weather gets a little dicey, schools and businesses may shut down. Monitor the latest list of closings, cancellations, and delays reported in southeast Wisconsin.
FOX6 Weather Experts in social media
The Source: Information in this post was compiled by the FOX6 Weather Experts.
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