Yesterday, Donald Trump faced heat in Wisconsin – criticized for his inept response to the coronavirus pandemic, failure to support Wisconsin workers, and renewed push to strike down the entire Affordable Care Act, which would kick more than 200,000 Wisconsinites off their health insurance as we face a global pandemic. Read more below:
Before Donald Trump landed in Wisconsin, the Press-Gazette reported on Green Bay Mayor Eric Genrich’s open letter to the president – where the mayor slammed Trump’s divisive rhetoric and “willful ignorance” on the coronavirus pandemic:
In a letter Wednesday, Genrich encouraged Trump to listen and learn from all members of the community during his town hall, including “those who have been left out of your vision for America.” The mayor, who served in the state Assembly as a Democrat, said Green Bay is a hospitable city with a “vibrant immigrant heritage” and strong ties to indigenous people in the region.
“Our instinct toward hospitality, of course, extends to our president, but I want you to know that it has its limitations,” Genrich wrote. “We don’t tolerate intolerance or willful ignorance, and we won’t endorse or ignore divisive and bigoted rhetoric.”
Trump’s trip to Wisconsin coincided with his Administration filing a brief with the Supreme Court to invalidate the Affordable Care Act, and Attorney General Josh Kaul spoke to the more than 200,000 Wisconsinites who would lose their care under repeal on WMSN Madison:
“I remember just being amazed that in the midst of the biggest health crisis that we have had in over a century that the Trump Administration wanted to throw the health insurance system into chaos and kick people off their health insurance at a time when the Affordable Care Act is providing a critical role in protecting people.”
Vice President Joe Biden slammed Donald Trump for turning his back on Wisconsin workers, taking an undeserved victory lap, and trying to rip away health care from Wisconsinites:
“Donald Trump doesn’t appreciate or respect the struggle of generations of workers in Wisconsin because he’s never lived that struggle. It shows. Today, his Administration is filing a brief with the Supreme Court to rip health care coverage away from 23 million Americans — including 224,000 Wisconsinites. Every American deserves the peace of mind that comes access to affordable, high-quality health care. No one in this country should have to lay in bed at night staring at the ceiling wondering what they will do if their husband or wife has a heart attack or their son or daughter gets cancer. But if Donald Trump gets his way, many sleepless nights await families in Wisconsin and across this nation.”
Senator Tammy Baldwin penned an op-ed in The Capital Times and WisPolitics outlining her efforts and partnership with the Obama-Biden Administration to grow manufacturing jobs in Marinette and Wisconsin:
It took deliberate action in 2010 from the Obama-Biden Administration and the Navy to ensure that half of the ships would be built in Wisconsin because that made the most sense based on cost and capability of the Marinette shipyard. This action by the previous administration long before President Trump took office ensured that Marinette would be competitive for future Navy programs, like the Frigate. Now we have an opportunity to ensure that this legacy of building and supplying the Navy continues in future decades.
Wisconsin shipbuilding suppliers could use the same common sense action from the Trump Administration to ensure Wisconsin-built engines are included in a Wisconsin-built ship, ensuring a healthy domestic industrial base into the future.
In an interview with WFRV (CBS) Green Bay, Senator Baldwin also urged Donald Trump to support Wisconsin jobs by implementing Buy America provisions:
ANCHOR: “Wisconsin U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin told Local 5 that the president is taking credit for a shipbuilding tradition that started decades before him.”
BALDWIN: “One of the things I’m urging the president to do is make good on his Buy America, Hire America policies by making sure all of the components of this ship are also built in America.”
Finally, less than a week after Trump admitted that he dangerously “ordered” COVID-19 testing to be slowed down, he made more “nonsense” claims about testing during his Marinette speech:
PolitiFact Wisconsin: “That’s not how it works. It just means we’d know less about cases.”