At dueling Milwaukee rallies, Trump and Harris deliver closing statements

Donald Trump and Kamala Harris held dueling rallies in Milwaukee Friday night at nearly the same time and just six miles apart, as both campaigns made what could be the final push for the swing state with just four days to go before the election.

And although the candidates were close, their closing messages were worlds apart.

Speaking to a crowd at the Fiserv Forum, Trump described the current state of the country in dark terms as he excoriated the Biden administration and hurled insults at Harris. He promised to make the country “stronger than ever before” but continued to ramble through his remarks and became frustrated with his microphone at several points.

Harris, along with a cast of musical performers at the Wisconsin State Fair Park, tried to strike a unifying tone. She again pledged to “seek common ground and common sense solutions” and reiterated her pledge to give those who disagree with her “a seat at the table.”

The meetings served as the final messages from Harris and Trump to the key swing state in the frenzied race for the White House that only began in full force just four months ago.

More: Recap: Harris, Trump rally supporters in Milwaukee after Harris stops in Janesville, Little Chute

They emphasized the importance of Wisconsin and the uncertainty of the outcome here, on the electoral map. The poll has shown a toss-up in the state. A Marquette University Law School poll released Wednesday showed Harris with a 1-point lead over Trump among likely voters — 50% to 49%.

Attendees at both rallies on Friday expressed confidence in their candidate’s chances, even as some reflected the up-in-the-air state of the race.

“I have no idea. I really don’t know,” Kirk Chovenac, a New Berlin resident, told the Journal Sentinel when asked outside the Trump rally how he felt about the former president’s chances in the state. “I never think on any opinion polls.”

During what could be his final rally in the state, Trump claimed his re-election would bring the “four greatest years in the history of our country” as he urged his supporters to turn out to vote.

“Just pretend we’re down one, right, we’re down one point, please,” Trump said after saying he was leading in every swing state, despite several polls showing Harris leading in some of these states.

His nearly 90-minute remarks meandered from the economy to immigration to casting doubt on the seriousness of climate change. He criticized the latest jobs report showing that hiring slowed in October.

“America will be bigger, better, bolder, richer, safer and stronger than ever before” if he is elected, Trump said.

But the former president also hurled personal insults at Harris, calling her names as “a low IQ person” and “grossly incompetent.” And he repeated his false claims that the 2020 election was stolen, claiming that illegal immigrants “have taken so many jobs away from African Americans.”

At the rally, Donald Trump pulls the microphone from the stand to cheer

“Yeah, I think this mic stinks.”

When some members of the crowd said they couldn’t hear him, Trump became frustrated with the microphone. He complained throughout the rest of the speech about the microphone, which he removed from its stand and lamented that he had to hold.

Harris, meanwhile, called November 5 the “most consequential election of our lifetime.” She said Democrats will win because “when you know what you stand for, you know what to fight for.”

“In this election, we have an opportunity to finally turn the page on a decade where Donald Trump tried to keep us divided and afraid of each other,” Harris said Friday night. “We’re done with it, we’re exhausted with it. We’re turning the page.”

Harris said Trump is about “trying to get Americans to point fingers at each other, but that’s not who we are.” She attacked her opponent as “unstable, obsessed with revenge” and “consumed by grievance.”

Kamala Harris’ reaction to vote level at Wisconsin rally

“For those of you who haven’t voted yet, no judgement, but get to it if you can.”

Her speech was preceded by a series of performances from top black female rappers and hip-hop artists, including MC Lyte, Flo Milli and GloRilla. Rapper Cardi B also spoke.

The scenes in Milwaukee mirrored those not seen in the state since perhaps 2004, when Republican George Bush and Democrat John Kerry stopped in the state’s largest city on the Monday before that election — Bush at what is now the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena and Kerry outside in near City Hall.

Friday’s stop was among the latest in a flurry of visits to the state by both campaigns since Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, accepted their party’s nomination in the same building in July.

Trump and Vance have made 17 individual visits to Wisconsin cities during that time. Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, meanwhile, have made stops in Wisconsin cities 22 times since Harris launched her presidential campaign in West Allis on July 23. Walz and Harris performed together during two of these visits. Harris visited Janesville and Little Chute Friday before the Milwaukee rally.

Walz on Monday is scheduled to make campaign stops in La Crosse, Stevens Point and Milwaukee, according to the Harris campaign. Vance is also scheduled to stop in La Crosse on Monday morning.

Harris and Trump are set to campaign across Pennsylvania on the same day, although Trump ends Monday in Michigan.

Still, both candidates urged their supporters Friday to get out and vote in a deadlocked race that could come down to voter turnout.

Inside the Fiserv Forum, Trump made the effort in Wisconsin clear.

“The fate of our nation is in your hands,” he said. “We win this state, we win it all.”