MILWAUKEE – Remember when former President Donald Trump called Milwaukee, which is hosting the Republican National Convention, a “horrible city?”
That was in mid-June during a closed-door meeting with Republican lawmakers but reported by news outlets.
Or how about when the Chicago Sun-Times reported, also in June, that law enforcement officials were preparing for Trump to stay in his Trump International Tower & Hotel during the Milwaukee convention – a plan that was reversed when reporters started asking about his 90-miles-away sleepover?
Well, there’s a billboard here aimed at trying to soothe hard feelings in a city that Trump lost by 59 points four years ago.
The billboard (pictured above) says: “I love Milwaukee, I have great friends in Milwaukee. – President Trump.”
The message was paid for by the Republican National Committee.
(Far) out-of-state cops
The nation’s capital hosts a “Police Week” once a year, when law enforcement organizations converge on the nation’s capital to commemorate fallen officers and to talk to lawmakers and administration officials about legislation and policy.
Milwaukee is hosting its own version of Police Week during the Republican National Convention.
The Milwaukee Police Department, the U.S. Secret Service and other federal agencies are getting additional help from about 4,000 law enforcement personnel from 24 states and the District of Columbia, according to a tally compiled by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Maryland’s contingent includes officers from the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office and the Prince George’s County Sheriff’s Office, the newspaper reported. The District of Columbia has contributed officers with the Metropolitan Police Department.
Our intrepid Capital News Service team also spotted United States Capitol Police, which makes sense given the number of Republican members of Congress at the convention.
As we write this in a local coffee shop, three officers from the Miami-Dade Police walked in. Out on the street, we have said hello to officers from Tulsa, Nashville, Austin and even Fresno, California. The Massachusetts State Police are here, as are the California Highway Patrol, the Tennessee Highway Patrol, the New Jersey State Police, the Colorado State Patrol and dozens of other police departments large and small.
Nixon’s the One!
The Richard Nixon Library & Museum, which is in the 37th president’s birthplace of Yorba Linda, California, has a small exhibit in the Baird Center, adjacent to the convention.
And on the tables were free campaign buttons and bumper stickers from Nixon’s presidential campaigns, including the iconic red-and-white 1968 “Nixon’s the One!” button. We say “campaigns” because one style of button looked old enough to be from Nixon’s unsuccessful 1960 White House bid against John F. Kennedy.
The people in charge of the exhibit insisted the campaign memorabilia was authentic – no reproductions. The only newer items were “Nixon’s the One!” fans.
Poet no-reate
Among the many, many, many souvenirs being sold at the convention is the first volume (!) of poetry by “the greatest poet of our generation.”
That would be Donald J. Trump.
A fellow trying to sell the green-covered hardcovers told curious passersby the price was $45.
A delegate patiently listening and looking at the book delivered his verdict: “My wife would kill me if I bought that.”
Capital News Service Washington Bureau Chief James R. Carroll contributed to this report.
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