Milwaukee and Mug Shots
I’m back from Milwaukee, where I spent most of the week covering the first Republican primary debate - the one that the frontrunner, former President Trump, skipped in favor of a pre-taped interview with former Fox News Host Tucker Carlson.
I’m reconnecting with my kids this weekend and getting ready for back-to-school tomorrow (and I’m exhausted from our end-of-the-summer visit to Busch Gardens yesterday), so I’ll keep this short.
I spent a lot of time this week talking to younger Republican voters - that story is airing on Weekend Edition Sunday today.
I won’t spend time here recapping the debate - you’ve heard it already on NPR (I hope)! But I will say I continue to be fascinated by the dynamics between Trump and the rest of the party. A few Republicans - like former Wisconsin Congressman Reid Ribble, whom I interviewed for a piece leading up to the debate - have spoken out with forceful warnings about the dangers of Trump’s false claims about the election. In our interview, he urged fellow Republicans to “tell the truth” about the 2020 election.
But most Republicans I met this week in Milwaukee seemed hesitant to criticize Trump (aside from his decision not to attend the debate itself). The most common sentiment I heard from younger voters was that they were keeping their primary options open, but they like Trump and they’d have no trouble supporting him if he is indeed the GOP nominee. Of course, these are Republican voters - but I heard little consternation about the fact that their party’s frontrunner is facing indictments in four jurisdictions related to his efforts to overturn the election, and more.
Still, as I also highlighted with my coverage of Planned Parenthood’s release of its first ad of the 2024 presidential cycle in Wisconsin this week - the GOP is up against a lot of short- and long-term challenges: changing demographics that favor Democrats, declining appeal with younger voters, and with women - particularly in the aftermath of last year’s Supreme Court decision overturning decades of abortion-rights precedent.
Of course, the events in Milwaukee were quickly overshadowed by the release of Trump’s mug shot from Georgia. Early post-debate polling suggests that Trump - without even being on the stage - remains well at the top of the Republican heap.
A note: If you enjoy my writing, one of the most meaningful and helpful things you can do is to pre-order my book, The Exvangelicals, out early next year. Full details here.
Thank you for your service! 😊