Milwaukee on edge on the eve of the convention that will crown Trump

Saying he was "completely stunned" by the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, Milwaukee residents and many supporters are calling à reduce the tension à the day before the Republican convention supposed to crown the candidate.

“I think we all need to calm things down,” urged Martin Kutlzer, a resident of this Wisconsin town, on Sunday, worried about “the very high tensions on both sides.”

The 60-year-old Republican, who proudly wears a t-shirt bearing the image of Donald Trump, accuses the Democratic camp of having stoked hatred against its candidate by comparing him to Adolf Hitler.

But he also regrets certain inflammatory remarks and cruel nicknames from Donald Trump, which are also not “desirable”.

– “Throwing fuel on the fire” –

“It's scary that people get so worked up about an election”, chokes Becca, along the Milwaukee River, on which police patrol by boat.

The Milwaukee Republican Convention, July 14, 2024 © AFP – Patrick T. Fallon

The young woman, who “leans more to the left than to the right”, lives a stone's throw from the large modern building which will host the Republican convention, “and with everything that is happening, we are a a little nervous.”

“I just hope this doesn't add fuel to the fire,” she whispers.

“Everyone I talk to is just completely stunned,” adds Lynn Quirk, encountered near the sports complex, the scene of this major political event, surrounded by tall black metal gates.

Martin Kutlzer, in Milwaukee, July 14, 2024 © AFP – Michael Mathes

The sixty-year-old, very affable, could not resist the temptation to witness in person the influx of elected officials, volunteers, activists in red caps and all that the country has of political journalists.

But his neighbors have given up on “getting too close”, for fear of excesses.

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“It's a crazy time,” she says.

– Increased security –

With its more than 50,000 participants, the high mass of the Republican Party already promised to be an ultra-secure event.

Police officers patrol on bicycles in Milwaukee, July 13, 2024 © AFP – Patrick T. Fallon

For the past year, managers of nearby businesses and restaurants have been forced to participate in meetings with the Secret Service, responsible for the protection of American presidents and former presidents.

Police reinforcements have been planned from as far away as Fresno, California.

But the attempted assassination of Donald Trump inevitably turns everything upside down device.

“Yesterday's events obviously force us to be more vigilant”, indicates Captain Anthony Scott, who came from Indiana with 60 of his police officers.

The security system in Milwaukee, July 14, 2024 © GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA – Jim Vondruska

“We spoke with the Secret Service and our point of contact within the Milwaukee police,” he told AFP while carrying out a reconnaissance mission in the city center.

President Joe Biden on Sunday demanded that the entire convention security protocol be rechecked.

The Republican convention in Milwaukee promised four days of speeches, political folklore, a large festive and patriotic gathering, punctuated by the release of 100,000 red, white and blue balloons.

A giant poster of former US President Donald Trump in the Fiserv Forum sports hall on the eve of the Republican convention, July 14, 2024 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin © AFP – ANGELA WEISS

The party will not be spoiled, however, wants to believe Becky, one of the volunteers for the event, who came from Washington State, on the other side of the country, to attend the convention.

“It makes me want to be there even more,” insists the sixty-year-old, convinced that the assassination attempt on Donald Trump could even “mobilize the crowds ” for the November presidential election.

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