Milwaukee became a microcosm of nation's political divisions during GOP presidential debate

A sweltering day of events and protests wound down outside Milwaukee's Fiserv Forum Wednesday night even as the Republican presidential primary debate inside was just heating up.

The candidates threw barbs and skirmished as they sought to stand out from the pack.

And through it all the thousands in the audience cheered and jeered, at times forcing the candidates to wait to speak.

"I think we need to re-establish some ground rules here, folks," Martha MacCallum, who co-moderated with fellow Fox News anchor Bret Baier, told the candidates more than an hour in.

But the often heated exchanges on the stage stood in contrast with the atmosphere in the city in the hours and days leading up to the debate, when people from across the political spectrum made their voices heard but seemed to avoid clashes.

More: Milwaukee gears up for Republican primary debate some see as dry run for 2024 RNC

National politics come to Milwaukee

The debate capped off two days that saw the heavily Democratic city transformed into a microcosm of the nation's political divisions.

Nationally known members of both parties were spotted in Milwaukee, including the former president's son Donald Trump Jr. and Democratic National Committee chair Jaime Harrison.

Georgia U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene was in the studio Wednesday morning with local host Sherwin Hughes on 101.7 The Truth, the news-talk radio station focusing on Milwaukee's Black community. She used the time to offer a forceful pitch for giving former President Donald Trump another term in the White House and repeated Trump's debunked claims about the 2020 election that rely in part on falsehoods about Milwaukee's election system.

Soon afterward, an anti-Biden bus made its way through downtown, urging Black voters to reject the Democratic president.

The Wisconsin Democratic Party didn't sit on the sidelines. It launched a "Cheddar Storm" fundraising drive featuring a call to "help make the GOP debate in Wisconsin backfire" even as the voices of Democratic Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson and County Executive David Crowley were the first to be heard in a new ad welcoming next year's Republican National Convention to the city.

Pre-debate flurry, heat continue into evening

The flurry of activity continued into the afternoon, despite heat so extreme the state Department of Transportation cautioned it could make roads buckle and the National Weather Service warned of "dangerously hot conditions" for anyone outdoors.

The plaza in front of Fiserv Forum served as the site of a pre-event party for the Young America's Foundation, a national conservative youth organization run by former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.

Overhead flew an airplane with a banner that read, "GOP 2024: A race for the extreme MAGA base."

And nearby, two separate protests were getting going at opposite corners of the downtown arena.

A few hundred people and plenty of GOP heavyweights, including RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, Trump Jr. and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp filed into the Deer District on Wednesday afternoon for the block party, some with umbrellas in hand as they braved the sweltering heat.

Outside of media tapings for conservative shows and a few food vendors, the crowd was spread thin. Those who did come were mostly debate attendees, media personalities and high-profile political figures, some from other states. And while there were some young people in the crowd, most visitors were older.

Jameson Smith, 37, drove 3½ hours from Iowa to attend the block party with his sons Payton, 15, and Hayden, 11.

The family was attending the debate to hear from candidates but said it would be "pretty hard" for them not to vote for Trump. Payton, a YAF member and an intern for the Trump campaign, has met the former president.

"He's been there, and he's done it, and he's taken care of business before," Jameson said.

Walker and Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson told the Journal Sentinel at the event that they thought Trump should have visited Wisconsin despite his decision to pass on the debate. And while Walker said skipping the swing state was a "missed opportunity," Johnson also noted it's a tough decision.

"I would have liked to see him come," Johnson told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "But it's a choice he had to make. It's a tough decision, with all the indictments."

Trump is facing four criminal indictments and a number of civil lawsuits.

At the nearby No Studios in the Brewery District, more than 100 people packed together before the debate to listen to union and progressive leaders offer a rebuttal.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore touted funding for infrastructure work provided by the Inflation Reduction Act as a benefit to Wisconsin residents, especially workers on the projects because union and apprenticeship jobs were incentivized.

She said Democrats and the Biden administration, through the child tax credit, helped give low-income families financial relief.

“Even people who were not hanging on by the hair of their chinny chin chin, we were able to provide for them extra money so they could comfortably pay for uniforms for their kids to be in little league and buy school supplies. ... That is what this president has done for you lately,” Moore said.

Harrison, of the Democratic National Committee, told the union crowd that Republican presidential candidates have “forgotten the importance of unions in building this great nation,” calling them "an extreme anti-worker, anti-union bag of Republicans trying to take us backwards."

After the speeches the crowd gathered and marched to Fiserv Forum, chanting and holding signs. The group stuck to the sidewalks and received no resistance from police present or Republican Party supporters.

At another protest, which started at Red Arrow Park, speakers made it clear they would not support any candidate from the GOP.

“You are not welcome here,” said Christine Neumann-Ortiz of immigrant rights group Voces de La Frontera. “None of the candidates are a lesser alternative to Trump.”

Speakers accused the Republican Party of being racist, sexist, transphobic and anti-worker.

Wednesday’s event was the hottest protest Tammy Gibbs has ever participated in, and she’s attended more than a dozen rallies. But she never entertained the idea of skipping due to heat.

“Not an option,” she said.

Abortion rights and LGBTQ rights were among Gibbs’ top political priorities.

“It just seems like the GOP has lost their minds,” she said.

After about a half-hour of speeches, the crowd snaked through downtown and circled around Fiserv Forum. As protesters walked by, a projected message onto the arena read, “Parents want love, not MAGA hate.”

Marchers chanted, “Milwaukee is a union town” and, “Say it loud, say it clear, Republicans aren’t welcome here."

Event organizer Aurelia Ceja expected some counterprotesters during the march, and she said about 20 engaged with protesters in the streets near the arena.

"It was dealt with very well," Ceja said after the protest ended around 9:15 p.m. "We just don't engage and move on with our fight and our agenda. We're fighting for justice. They can go ahead and stand in our way but we'll keep on moving."

Milwaukee Police Department arrested one person for disorderly conduct.

The frenzy had died down by the time the debate ended. By 10:30 p.m. the Deer District was calm as debate attendees slowly filed out for the evening.

About 250 attended the Red Arrow Park protest, which was organized by the Coalition to March on the RNC 2024. How many does the group expect next summer?

"We're hoping to have thousands across the country," Ceja said.

Journal Sentinel reporters Molly Beck, Sophie Carson, Hope Karnopp, Lawrence Andrea, Bill Glauber, Drake Bentley and Rory Linnane contributed to this story.

Alison Dirr can be reached at adirr@jrn.com.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee became microcosm of political divisions for GOP debate