Milwaukee mayor defends city after alleged Donald Trump comments

(NewsNation) – A day after former President Donald Trump allegedly insulted Milwaukee, Mayor Cavalier Johnson refuted those claims, instead complimenting the city he leads.

Trump reportedly called the Wisconsin city “horrible,” just over a month away from the city hosting the Republican National Convention.

Trump's campaign has since called the reports a “total lie,” saying instead that the former president called the city's crime rates horrendous. Rep. Glenn Grothman, Republican of Wisconsin, backed that claim Thursday on NewsNation's “The Hill.”

“People were saying he didn't say it, that he said it, that it was related to crime, or that it was related to election integrity – turning into pretzels trying to cover up Donald Trump,” Johnson said.

Whether or not Trump called his city “horrible,” Johnson, a Democrat, said it was a place that was seeing massive growth and falling crime rates after the pandemic.

“The fact is that all the indicators point to the opposite,” he said.

Recent data shows that crime is falling. According to data from the Milwaukee Police Department, homicides, rapes, aggravated assaults and burglaries are all down at least 10 percent from last year.

“Milwaukee is a great city. It's a splendid city. It’s a city that even the Republican National Committee, in fact, had a lot of pleasure working with, chose to host its convention in 2024,” he added.