During a visit to Milwaukee Thursday evening, former President Bill Clinton argued that Kamala Harris’ plans for America would make people better off than Donald Trump’s policies.
Clinton’s speech was wide-ranging: from job growth and infrastructure financing under President Joe Biden, to gas and insulin prices, to mentions of former U.S. Sen. Joe McCarthy, who represented Wisconsin from 1947-57, and the Los Angeles Dodgers’ World Series. win on Wednesday.
Speaking to a few hundred mostly black supporters, including pastors and members of local black churches, the popular Democrat said his goal for the evening was to “explain things to people” rather than deliver a conventional stump speech. And especially because black voters’ enthusiasm for Harris was uncertain, the hope was that Clinton could encourage the faith community to vote in a must-win swing state.
“The future of the country is at stake, and the decision may be made in Wisconsin,” Clinton told the crowd.
He said former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, was motivated by a desire for power and wanted to sow division in the country.
“Trump’s goal is to keep you torn and upset,” said Clinton, who served as president from 1993 to 2001.
As an example, Clinton cited the question of whether transgender athletes should compete in the NCAA, which he said is the sports organization’s decision, not Trump’s, but still fuels discontent and motivates people to vote for him.
“It won’t create any jobs, it won’t solve the border chaos, it won’t do anything,” Clinton said on the issue of transgender athletes.
More: 5 lessons from Kamala Harris’ rally concert in Madison, where she targeted young voters
More: Former President Donald Trump speaks to reporters from a garbage truck in Green Bay
Clinton compares Harris and Trump’s policy plans
Clinton also struck an optimistic tone about the country’s future, rattling off several statistics about the country’s demographics and job growth. He mentioned new immigrants starting small businesses, the $1 trillion infrastructure bill that will improve roads and bridges, and an increase in clean energy production such as solar and wind power.
“This country has the best future prospects of any country in the world,” he said.
He said the main issue was that Trump was proposing a 20% tariff on all imported goods into the US
“It’s a terrible mistake to just impose a blanket tariff without knowing how you’re going to make a living and buy this stuff,” Clinton said.
Clinton said voters should consider three questions: are people better off now than before, do children have a better future, and “are we coming together instead of driving each other apart?”
The campaign stop is part of a tour of swing states for the 42nd president. Clinton was in Pennsylvania on Tuesday and in Michigan on Wednesday. He visited Arizona last week and has also campaigned for Harris in Nevada, Georgia and North Carolina.
More: As Election Day approaches, campaigns are making their final pitches to Milwaukee Black voters
Advocates see apathy among some potential voters
When his roughly 30-minute speech at the Institute for the Preservation of African American Music and Arts was over, supporters rushed to the front of the room to take selfies with Clinton, who even 20 years after the end of his presidency is a popular figure.
Tarrazonia Green, 75, understands Clinton’s appeal. She likes his charisma and considers him the “people’s president.”
“People certainly like and appreciate his leadership, what he brought to the table during his time in office and even beyond,” she said.
Green is a longtime Democrat who grew up in a family of Democrats. She says she is a fan of Harris and is concerned about a lack of turnout from younger people who may be disinterested in the political process and uninformed about the issues. And she is incredulous that one of her younger relatives is considering voting for Trump.
Larry Johnson, 74, a retired Teamster, is also trying to combat apathy for Harris. He says he hears from friends and men in the barbershop that they won’t vote for Harris because they know nothing about her.
“I said, ‘Well, we know she’s not a convicted felon,’” Johnson said.
He felt so strongly that people should vote for Harris that he spent $1,300 putting up a billboard at North 47th Street and West Silver Spring Drive. It reads: “Vote Kamala Harris. She has the best plan for this great country. With her, America stands.”
The Democratic Party’s confidence in the support of young black men in particular has wavered as some black residents doubt Harris will deliver on her economic promises. And the enthusiasm is gone. Milwaukee’s majority-black neighborhoods have seen declines in recent elections, including 58% turnout in 2016 and 51% in 2020, compared to nearly 79% in 2012.
The latest USA TODAY/Suffolk University Poll shows Harris has lost ground nationally among black voters in the seven weeks between the two polls. They favor Harris by a margin of 72% to 17%, a 55-point lead that is well below where Democrats traditionally do it.
Harris and her surrogates, including former President Barack Obama, have since worked to revive that support.
The culture and events center where Clinton spoke is affiliated with the Holy Redeemer Institutional Church of God in Christ, founded by prominent Bishop Sedgewick Daniels, who died last year.
Daniels, who considered himself an independent, wielded considerable political influence, and his church was a popular place for politicians to visit. He supported both Clinton and former President George W. Bush and was even a delegate to the 2004 Republican National Convention.
This article originally appeared in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Bill Clinton visits Milwaukee to campaign for Kamala Harris
