MILWAUKEE — The spotlight will continue to shine on Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson. Especially with the Republican National Convention and the first GOP presidential debate coming to town.
According to a recent piece from Politico, the success of the first Republican primary debate rests in part with Democrat Johnson.
The report notes Republicans have been attacking "crime-ridden" cities run by Democrats, often naming Chicago. But it's mum when it comes to big events like the first Republican presidential debate to be held on Aug. 23 in Milwaukee, and the RNC convention in Milwaukee in 2024.
Mayor Johnson told Politico for the story, “We’re going to be gracious hosts because that’s what you should be... We’re asking everyone to be on their best behavior.”
“As a Democrat, could I have stood up and said ‘We’re not going to be welcoming to the RNC’ or ‘We don’t want them in our community’? I mean, I could have done that. But that’s the easy way out,” according to Johnson in the interview.
Security appears to be the focus for both Republicans and Democrats in Milwaukee ahead of the debate. Officials including the mayor and RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel are keeping an eye on where debate protesters might gather as well as traffic patterns across downtown. (The city says they have not received any applications for large demonstrations yet).
There is also the question of whether or not former President Donald Trump will attend the debate. Last weekend Trump polled supporters asking him if he should attend. He said in the past he doesn't need this Milwaukee debate because he leads the polls and would open himself up to attacks from opponents.
The Secret Service is preparing either way, according to Mayor Johnson's office.
As Politico notes, Mayor Johnson helped "court" the RNC even before his election to Milwaukee's mayoral office. He visited the nation's capitol during the mayoral election to meet with McDaniel and pitch Brew City as a national convention host.
"Americans — not just people in Milwaukee or Wisconsin but across the United States — want to see us come back to normal to a place where we can disagree but not be disagreeable," Mayor Johnson said.
Chicago meanwhile is hosting the Democratic National Convention in 2024.
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