GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump at a La Crosse town hall last night knocked Dems for labeling him a “threat to democracy,” arguing Dem opponent Kamala Harris is the real danger.
He also touted a new proposal aiming to boost access to in vitro fertilization.
The former president answered four questions from voters at the La Crosse Center, where he appeared onstage for about 30 minutes to weigh in on issues including illegal immigration, inflation, crime and national security. Trump also answered questions from the moderator, former Hawaii U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, an ex-Democrat who has endorsed his campaign.
Trump, who arrived about an hour late after speaking in Michigan earlier that day, told attendees his debate with President Joe Biden was “the beginning of the end for him.”
“And they started looking, but they picked a woman that had absolutely no votes,” Trump said. “She got no votes, and now she’s running, so when you say ‘threat to democracy,’ they are a threat to democracy. I’m not a threat to democracy.”
He also spoke about a new proposal, announced ahead of yesterday’s town hall, to provide free in vitro fertilization for Americans. He touted the proposal in response to a question from Gabbard, who said she had received the fertility treatment, about those who want to ensure access to IVF.
“Government is going to pay for it, or we’re going to get or mandate your insurance company to pay for it, which is going to be great. We’re going to do that,” Trump said, adding “we want to produce babies in this country, right?”
While answering a question from a voter concerned about illegal immigration taking away American jobs, Trump said Harris “didn’t look like a leader” in clips of a CNN interview she did with running mate Tim Walz.
“She was sitting behind that desk, this massive desk, and she didn’t look like a leader to me,” Trump said. “I’ll be honest, I don’t see her negotiating with President Xi of China, I don’t see her with Kim Jong Un like we did with Kim Jong Un.”
The stop marked Trump’s first trip to Wisconsin since the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee in July and came after his running mate, U.S. Sen. JD Vance, visited De Pere on Wednesday.
Ahead of Trump’s town hall, Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez at a La Crosse press conference with fellow Dems argued Wisconsin families can’t afford another Trump term and the GOP nominee would raise prices for Wisconsinites.
“Kamala Harris is the only candidate in this race to put forward a plan that would actually lower costs for working families, keep jobs in Wisconsin, and pushing new generations to homeownership,” she said. “Donald Trump has an extreme agenda that would raise costs across the board.”
Meanwhile, the DNC put up billboards blasting Trump in La Crosse, arguing he would “raise taxes on working families and increase the cost of buying a home” and “raise taxes on middle-class families by $3,900.”
