Milwaukee readies itself for Trumpmania

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Milwaukee will host America’s conservative elite for the next five days — including Donald Trump, who has just survived an assassination attempt. This true-blue city has been chosen to host the Republican National Convention, primarily because it’s the largest city in swing state Wisconsin.

Around 50,000 delegates, politicians, apparatchiks and journalists are arriving here for the formal coronation of Trump — much to the chagrin of many locals. The city voted 79 percent for Biden in 2020, with Trump subsequently seeking to overturn thousands of votes. “I don’t want them here” was the reaction of Fred Smith, fifty-four, when he saw the giant Republican elephant, emblazoned on the side of the Fiserv Forum — where his beloved Bucks play their home games.

It’s not just politics that is irritating the local residents. The necessary security to accommodate the Republican elite has put parts of the city in near-lockdown. Hundreds of eight-foot black metal barriers have sprung up across the downtown area, slicing through streets and blocking off roads with stout concrete barriers. When I arrived earlier this morning, it looked like more than half of the security roaming outside the Forum were from law enforcement. Indiana State Police, with their broad-brimmed hats, have been drafted in.

The attempted assassination has only heightened the air of unease. One officer confessed to me that they felt “pins and needles” at their nerves; another that “they didn’t want anyone doing anything stupid.” This, in a town where local restaurants bear signs stating that “all weapons including concealed firearms are prohibited on these premises.” Counter protests are planned in the city throughout the week; the already tight security arrangements are likely to have been reviewed overnight.

Today though, we are unlikely to see a repeat of past dramas, like the anti-Vietnam riots at the Democrats’ Chicago convention in 1968. Journalists and security personnel comprise the bulk of those milling around outside the stadium, with the current risk for reporters being vox-popped by one of their own. “Hi there, are you with the media?” beams one blonde broadcaster brandishing a camera. Upon confirming I was, she looked disappointed. “I’m trying to find any delegates,” she said, “but it all just seems to be media here today.”

That might just be how Donald Trump and his team would like it at the start of this convention. Five days of journalists uninterruptedly obsessing about their defiant candidate, just at a time when Joe Biden’s bid appears to be faltering. The atmosphere on the ground here might be somewhat tense but when the convention kicks off tomorrow, expect Trumpmania.

This article was originally published on The Spectator’s UK website.