Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris held dueling rallies Friday night in the swing state of Wisconsin with Election Day fast approaching.
“I’ve come today with a message of hope for all Americans … I don’t want your money. I want your damn vote,” Trump told the crowd at his campaign event in downtown Milwaukee.
The former president vowed to “end inflation,” secure the border and “bring back the American dream” if elected to a second White House term.
Trump, 78, slammed the latest employment figures released by the Harris-Biden administration, calling the measly 12,000 jobs employers added in October “almost disqualifying” for the Democratic nominee.
“It’s hundreds of thousands of jobs less than it should be,” the 45th president argued.
“Those numbers are so low they’re almost disqualifying,” Trump said.
“I think they’re trying to blame it on the hurricane … It’s not the hurricane, they’re the hurricane,” he added.
Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had expected payrolls to expand by 100,000, which still would have been a huge drop from September’s revised 223,000.
Trump battled issues with the microphone throughout the event at Fiserv Forum, the home of the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks.
“Fix the mic,” the audience chanted at multiple points during his speech.
Trump, fed up with the low volume, dramatically ripped the microphone off the podium and held it with his hands for the duration of his remarks after realizing what the crowd was chanting.
“Yeah, I think this mic stinks,” he told the crowd.
President Biden’s remark earlier this week about Trump supporters – referring to them as “garbage” – was still on the minds of some of the rally attendees.
“We are not trash,” Peter Schmidt, who wore a yellow vest to the ex-president’s rally, told The Post.
The Milwaukee man described himself as an “everyday” American who believes in freedom and the Constitution.
“If you wanna say we’re trash, that’s fine. But this is who we are,” he said as he patted his vest. “Everyday Americans.”
Seven miles away, at the Wisconsin State Fair Exposition Center, rapper Cardi B and comedian Keegan-Michael Key were the latest celebrities out stumping for Harris.
“I’m nervous,” Cardi B admitted to the crowd, asking for “patience” as she composed and then began reading her remarks off of her phone.
“I believe in every word that comes outta her mouth. She’s passionate, she’s compassionate, she shows empathy, and most of all, she’s not delusional,” the Washington Heights-native said.
“The cost of food and the cost of living is too high. Damn, it’s even high for me,” she added.
Meanwhile, Harris urged her supporters to get everyone they can out to the polls.
“We got four days to get this thing done. Four days. No one can sit on the sidelines,” she pleaded. “So let’s spend the next four days so that when we look back on these days, we have no regrets about what we could have done.”
“So let’s knock on doors. Let’s text. Let’s call. Let’s reach out to family and friends and classmates and neighbors and coworkers,” Harris begged.
Data from the Wisconsin Elections Commission shows Milwaukee is trailing the rest of Wisconsin by about 7% in voter turnout, according to Politico.
Former President Barack Obama is expected to stump for Harris in Milwaukee on Sunday.
Trump won the Badger State in 2016 but lost in 2020.
The latest RealClearPolitics average of polls has Trump trailing Kamala Harris by 0.3 percentage points in Wisconsin.
