BY ARCHER PARQUETTE AND RICH ROVITO
The first day of Milwaukee’s Republican National Convention is officially in the books. The first big news of the day was the announcement of Ohio Sen. JD Vance as former President Donald Trump’s running mate. The 39-year-old Republican first gained national attention for his 2016 memoir Hillbilly Elegy and has served in the Senate since 2023.
But the biggest moment of the night came around 9 p.m., when Trump made his first public appearance since Saturday’s assassination attempt. He was introduced from offstage and appeared on the screen with a bandaged ear. He walked out to a standing ovation from the crowd before taking a seat with Vance, House Speaker Mike Johnson, Florida Rep. Byron Daniels and conservative media figure Tucker Carlson.
It’s time to pick your Milwaukee favorites for the year!
How did the events impact Downtown? Traffic was surprisingly light around the city, with some streets virtually devoid of people and vehicles. Even closer to the security perimeter, activity was perhaps typical by Monday afternoon standards – but sparse if you consider the influx of 50,000 people.
Long traffic jams, though, persisted throughout the day at the vehicle checkpoints that marked the “outer” or “soft” security perimeter; some people told reporters they waited for an hour to get through.
Overall, the security presence was something like the city has never seen. High steel fences and vehicle checkpoints patrolled by law enforcement blocked off the security zones. Officers were stationed throughout the heart of Downtown, while others ride around in large groups on bicycles. Boats equipped with automatic weapons patrol the Milwaukee River, with the constant buzz of helicopters overhead.
“Yes, there will be some inconveniences for people who are traveling to Downtown and that is inevitable in an event such as this,” Mayor Cavalier Johnson said at a press conference earlier in the day.
Getting through security into the “hard” security perimeter was appropriately difficult. My bag was checked twice; my pockets emptied; and I passed through two metal detectors – and that’s with my confirmed press credentials, received after passing a Secret Service background check.
The grounds, as you might imagine, were crawling with police, Secret Service and other law enforcement – sometimes outnumbering attendees. Lanyard colors made identifying people simple – red is for delegates and volunteers; yellow is for media. The place was overflowing with both.
The security “hard zone” from centered around Fiserv Forum has been recreated as a small encampment of sorts, centered around Fiserv Forum, the Baird Center and the UWM Panther Arena. The Baird Center at the edge is home to the media, a vast lounging space where journalists are filing stories and taping hits.
Representatives from Visit Milwaukee give out free swag bags with Harley-Davidson T-shirts, Potawatomi pens, and visitors guides to the city.
Tents line the streets outside the center – some are just vendors selling food and drinks, others are political groups, and there are small stages with live music as well. Directly outside the Baird Center is a replica of Ripon’s Little White Schoolhouse – the birthplace of the Republican Party.
The blazing hot temperatures Monday pushed a lot of people off the street and into air-conditioned venues, but the Deer District was still packed with people of all stripes. Journalists searched out interviewees; potential interviewees often said no, in my observation, but also acquiesced to give comment; delegates mingled through tents selling merch and drinks, and advertising causes.
The New Fashioned across from Fiserv was outfitted with food, drinks, desserts and a bunch of RNC merch for sale. (And yes, everything is quite expensive – a sandwich and a Gatorade from a vendor, with tip, ran me $24.)
The media infrastructure throughout all of this is significant, with booths set up for television backdrops, charging stations both inside and outside for laptops and cameras, and the convention media relations team moving throughout the area. Even a brief walk through the area nets four or five media celebrity sightings. The biggest names of cable news were all over – many by the CNN/Politico Grill, an invite-only restaurant/bar that’s taken over Turner Hall for the week. On the somewhat unexpected celebrity front, Russell Brand was seen walking around the Baird Center, as well.
Delegates filled the convention floor, while volunteers and media sat above. The floor was full, while the upper decks had a fair number of empty seats. Throughout the proceedings, people move in and out of the arena freely, mingling outside, leaving for drinks and wandering around the Deer District.
A few Wisconsin folks were featured in the first full day’s programming:
- Milwaukee’s Catholic archbishop Jerome Listecki gave the opening prayer
- The City of Hartford Police color guard presented the colors at the beginning of the event.
- Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson spoke. “It is an honor and a privilege to represent the decent, hard-working and very nice people of Wisconsin in the U.S. Senate.”
Other prominent speakers included:
- Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia
- Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina
- Gov. Kristi Noem of South Dakota
- Rep. Byron Daniels of Florida
- Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA
- Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee
- Sean O’Brien, president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters
