Photo: Alex Brandon Associated Press The metropolis of Wisconsin, a key state taken over by Joe Biden in 2020 after being acquired by Donald Trump in 2016, is hosting the Republican National Convention this week. But its inhabitants, mainly Democrats, decided to welcome this high mass in the glory of the populist in their own way: by protesting.
Fabien Deglise in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Posted at 4:27 p.m.
- United States
Billboards are multiplying along the highway as you approach Milwaukee. On one, the face of a man appears: his name is Lars, “a former Trump voter”, still “conservative”, but who affirms that he will not vote for him this time, details the poster.
Further on, motorists are reminded of the cancellation in June 2022 of Roe v. Wade by the Supreme Court of the United States, a ruling which had protected American women's right to abortion since 1973, specifying that it was “courtesy of MAGA extremists », Make America Great Again, Donald Trump's movement. Another sign displays the Republican Party logo upside down with a simple statement: “Your candidate is a convicted felon.” And yet another invites us to “remember” January 6, the day of the insurrection against the Capitol in 2021, during the vote next November.
The metropolis of Wisconsin, a key state taken over by Joe Biden in 2020 after being acquired by Donald Trump in 2016, is hosting the Republican National Convention this week. But its inhabitants, mainly Democrats, decided to host this high mass in the glory of the populist in their own way: by protesting.
“The presence of Donald Trump in town this week is scandalous,” says Sue Terry, a retiree met this week in a city park. “We have the impression of living in a besieged environment. This doesn't fit very well with the spirit of the place. Imagine all the children that we could have educated and even fed with the colossal sums that have just been spent on this gathering,” says the woman who lived in Montreal in the 1970s and 1980s.
In the former American industrial stronghold, significant security measures have been put in place around the Republican convention, confined to a perimeter in the city center and heavily protected by security forces. order and the secret services. A framework that has also been tightened since the assassination attempt on former President Trump in Pennsylvania last Saturday.
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Protests
But that does not prevent demonstrators from gathering in the outskirts to express their anger at see a city that chose Joe Biden by 69% in the last presidential election rolling out the red carpet for his opponent who only received 29% of the votes here.
“All of this man's policies worry me,” summarizes Ellie Jayce, a young twenty-something from Milwaukee who came to denounce the presence of Donald Trump and his entire entourage, sign in hand, in front of a checkpoint for vehicles entering the site of the event. “People are irritated by the holding of this convention here, and I hope that they will remember that next November by massively voting against him and above all not remaining silent in the face of the important issues of this election. »
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Photo: Fabien Deglise Le Devoir Fearing Donald Trump's policies, Ellie Jayce of Milwaukee came to express her discontent outside the Republican convention this week
Across the street, African-American rights activist Nadine Seiler unfurls a banner denouncing pro-Trump conservatives’ attacks on women’s abortion rights. “We now have a martyr behind us,” she says ironically, pointing in the direction of the Fiserv Forum, hidden behind tall metal gates set up around it. “His political agenda is to make sure people can carry guns all the time. And he’s surprised that he’s been the victim. His agenda is part of the problem.”
The choice of Milwaukee as the venue for Donald Trump’s party convention was far from obvious, with the thousands of attendees at this ultraconservative political gathering landing in hostile territory. But the Republican Party is thus seeking, four months before the vote, to assert its presence in a state with a changing political mood – and which could become the keystone of Donald Trump's return to the White House.
Tourism
“For the city, this is a purely economic decision because of the money that participants inject into local businesses,” summarizes Mordecai Lee, specialist in local politics at the University of Wisconsin, in an interview. . “Milwaukee also wants to strengthen its economic vitality in the field of accommodation and hotels, and it says that the publicity induced by the Republican convention will help it develop the image of an attractive and interesting city. »
In the crowded hotels, but also in the more bohemian setting of the public market on Water Street, in the heart of the old town, the impact of the Republicans from everywhere in the United States is easily noticeable. They are easily recognized there with their rather conservative style of clothing for some – or, for others, by the piles of cards allowing them to enter the ultra-secure perimeter of the convention which hang around their necks.< /p>
“We are not here to create drama, but to have a good time and put everything in place to ensure the re-election of Donald Trump,” summarized this week Leecha, a Republican from Missouri crossed not far from the channel formed by the Milwaukee River, which runs through the city.
Photo: Fabien Deglise Le Devoir Leecha (right) savored the charms of Milwaukee on Tuesday with her friend Carrie.
Ironically, if holding a convention can historically allow the Democratic Party to acquire a key state by slightly increasing the vote in its favor, it is different for the Republican Party, summarizes political scientist Philip Rocco, professor at the Marquette University in Milwaukee. “In divided environments like Wisconsin, Republicans are less able to turn a showing into a win on Election Day because they still face the same obstacle: minimizing the negative impact of their convention. And it is not certain that they succeeded in doing so here. »
“I am terrified by this event and by what it represents,” summarizes Democrat Adele Kaferly, sitting in the shade of a tree under which she had decided to have a picnic with friends. “We’ve already had four years of Donald Trump. We don't want more. »
And she adds: “I’m afraid of having to live in an autocracy. Republican voters do not seem to fully understand the process underway behind this candidacy. If he is re-elected, it will be a nightmare. And a nightmare caused by what ? Apathy, ignorance and absurdity. »
This report was financed with the support of the Transat- International Journalism Fund The duty .