EAU CLAIRE, Wisconsin — Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump told Wisconsin Democrats on Tuesday evening that if they had already cast ballots for Hillary Clinton in early voting, they should change their votes — and that state law allowed them to do so.
Addressing a raucous, standing-room-only crowd at the Zorn Arena, Trump said that if Hillary Clinton were elected president, her legal troubles would only continue.
“She is likely to be under investigation for many years, probably concluding in a very large-scale criminal trial.”
The only answer, he suggested, was not to let her have the chance. His “message for any Democratic voters who have already cast” their ballots was that Wisconsin is one of the states that allowed them to change their minds. (Minnesota is another.)
Trump traveled to the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire as he continued his attempt to expand the electoral map with an appearance Tuesday evening in this rural town in a state known historically for its “progressive” politics.
Earlier in the day, Trump had delivered a policy address on Obamacare in Pennsylvania. On Monday, he campaigned in Michigan, and on Sunday, he visited Nevada, Colorado, and New Mexico — all states that have recently trended Democratic, but where some polls suggest Trump is competitive with Hillary Clinton.
The Clinton campaign announced Tuesday that it will campaign in Michigan on Friday, and it is spending money on new ads in states it once considered secure.
Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani spoke at the event, as did local political leaders: Rep. Sean Duffy of the local 7th district, Wisconsin GOP chair Brad Courtney, Republican National Committee chair Reince Priebus, and Gov. Scott Walker.
Only one prominent Wisconsin leader, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, was absent. Ryan withdrew from a “unity” event last month after the release of a video from Access Hollywood in 2005 showing Trump joking about groping women.
Trump praised Walker: “I want to tell you, I ran against him. He is tough,” Trump said.
Trump added that Hillary Clinton had cheated in her presidential debates with Bernie Sanders by having questions provided in advance by CNN contributor Donna Brazile.
Brazile is now the chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), after the resignation of Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), who was alleged to have colluded with the Clinton campaign after Wikileaks released emails from the DNC in July.
“She was just fired from the network. She should resign from DNC,” Trump said.
Trump hit many of his familiar points from the trail, including his argument that Hillary Clinton’s eagerness to intervene in Syria could lead to a confrontation with Russia “that, frankly, for all we know, could trigger World War III.”
The most recent public Wisconsin poll, by Remington Research, shows Trump 4 points behind Hillary Clinton, just outside the poll’s 2.9% margin of error.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News. His new book, See No Evil: 19 Hard Truths the Left Can’t Handle, is available from Regnery through Amazon. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.