Democratic Mayor of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Cavalier Johnson called out former Republican President Donald Trump for back-peddling his previous denunciation of the city.
Last Thursday during a closed-door meeting with House Republicans on Capitol Hill, the presumptive GOP nominee reportedly called Milwaukee "horrible."
According to several members of Wisconsin’s congressional delegation who were in the room, Trump used the word to describe Milwaukee during a conversation about crime rates and so-called election integrity.
However, on Tuesday, Trump proclaimed his love for the fifth-most populous city in the crucial swing state in front of supporters gathered in Racine, a city 30 miles south of Milwaukee.
“I love Milwaukee," said Trump, and claimed Milwaukee was his pick to host the Republican National Convention this summer.
He continued:
“I was the one that picked it."
"These lying people. They say, ‘Oh, he doesn’t like Milwaukee.’ I love Milwaukee."
"I said we’ve got to fix the crime. We all know that."
"You’ve got to make sure the election is honest, but I’m the one who picked Milwaukee.”
Mayor Johnson saw through Trump's 180 and reminded the public that the RNC was the one that picked Milwaukee to host the convention.
You can watch a CNN clip of Johnson exposing Trump's fabrication here.
When asked about his take on the convicted former President's backtrack on his view of Milwaukee, the Mayor said it was "really interesting" to hear Trump all of a sudden say he loves Milwaukee "and the fact that [Trump] even selected Milwaukee."
Johnson said of the process behind getting the RNC to come to his city:
"We worked really, really hard to get the convention. The folks at the RNC have been great."
"Right before I was initially elected Mayor, I took time off the campaign trail to go to Washington D.C. to go to the RNC headquarters through the final pitch to bring the RNC here."
"It was the RNC that selected Milwaukee."
He added:
"I think I would remember that Donald Trump had anything to do with that. He was nowhere to be found."
"That is a complete fabrication. I am stunned by that."
X users slammed Trump for somehow both flip-flopping and lying in the same breath and wondered how Mayor Johnson could be "stunned" by yet another lie from the former president.
The GOP convention is scheduled to take place from July 15-18 in Milwaukee, where Trump is expected to accept his party's nomination for a White House comeback.
Wisconsin is a key battleground state in the upcoming election.
In 2020, the state voted 49.4% for Democratic President Joe Biden and 48.8% for Trump.
