All week long, fueled by cold brew, WUWM reporter Maayan Silver has been reporting both inside and outside of the Republican National Convention’s security zone. It’s been a whirlwind week full of surprises, from the attempted assassination on former President Donald Trump just days before the convention kicked off to the fact that, otherwise, the RNC has mostly gone as planned.
Silver has been watching closely as RNC events have unfolded, a dissonant clash between a “big pep rally for a conservative presidential nominee as controversial as Trump” and the mostly Democratic Milwaukee.
Here are Silver’s takeaways from the week.
There’s unease, safety concerns on both sides
Going into the RNC, Silver knew that some Milwaukeeans had preconceived notions about what it would mean to have tens of thousands of Republicans in town. Some swore to avoid downtown; others left the city entirely.
Many local activists took issue with the influx of out-of-state police, who aren’t familiar with the city and community here. Those concerns materialized this week when five Columbus, Ohio, officers shot and killed Samuel Sharp, Jr. in Milwaukee’s King Park neighborhood.
Outside the security perimeter, “downtown Milwaukee has been sort of a weirdly fenced and blockaded ghost town,” Silver says. “As one of our colleagues said, ‘It’s giving early pandemic.’”
But Silver found that convention delegates traveling to Milwaukee had similar misgivings about venturing too far beyond the security zone. One delegate told Silver that, given the environment of heightened political conflict and violent rhetoric, she feels safe staying in the hard security zone and at her hotel.
“There really hasn’t been a lot of time to do any sightseeing,” Kathy Doyle, a delegate from Pennsylvania, told Silver. “And it really hasn’t been encouraged, I think, just for our own protection.”
The RNC is basically a big pep rally
Republicans attending the convention this week are generally upbeat and excited to be here. They’re united around Trump and supportive of his pick for vice president, J.D. Vance. But let’s not forget, the RNC is a big pep rally.
“This is a very self-selecting crowd,” Silver says. “The people here may be more unified, but how are they going to bridge [the gap] to people that are not already on board with Trump and MAGA?”
Silver noted that at a WisPolitics event this week, Keith Gilkes, a GOP strategist in Madison, shared his concerns that conventions make a party over-confident. He thinks the GOP is still behind on political infrastructure in Wisconsin. “We’ve got a lot of work to do,” he said.
Look for small shifts in language
President Trump will speak tonight, the final night of the convention, in his first speaking appearance since the assassination attempt last week. “Unity” has since become a major theme of the convention, yet President Trump himself has long been blamed for fomenting polarization and division.
Silver asked Eric Toney, a Fond du Lac prosecutor and former GOP candidate for attorney general, how he expects Trump to unite people.
“I don’t agree with all of those things that we hear, whether it’s from him or any other elected official on either side of the aisle,” Toney told Silver. “But if you have somebody that’s been doing those things, and they change, that’s the exact type of leadership we need to show a change in the tone and temperature in our state.”
This week's Capitol Notes, with special guest Barry Burden, a UW politics professor who was at the RNC, dives into why that did not happen.
To make friends at the RNC, maybe don’t talk about politics
Right outside the Fiserv Forum, Delegate Fest is a big street fair with food, vendors and informational booths galore. There, Silver met Tolu Ojesina, a Milwaukee business woman from Nigeria, who was selling colorful African headwraps. This week, she's enjoyed some fun interactions with visitors at her booth, but mostly avoided talking politics.
“I prefer to make friends,” Ojesina told Silver. “And it is hard to talk politics and make friends sometimes.”
She told Silver she has lots of friends.
Radio is more fun than TV
From @WUWMradio to @cnni for a brief few minutes talking about #RNCinMKE pic.twitter.com/UedEYwoVUz
— Maayan Silver (@maayansilver) July 17, 2024
Throughout the week, Silver has made media appearances and shared her reporting with a wide range of outlets, including CNN International, North Carolina Public Radio and BBC Business.
“CNN International was my first time reporting for TV,” Silver says. “No worries, I like radio better.”
