Trump team, Wisconsin GOP push back on claims he called Milwaukee a 'horrible city'

The Trump campaign and Wisconsin GOP lawmakers on Thursday raced to correct claims that he had referred to Milwaukee, where the Republican National Convention will be held later this year, a "horrible city."

"TRUMP TO HOUSE REPUBLICANS: 'Milwaukee, where we are having our convention, is a horrible city,'" Punchbowl News's Jake Sherman posted on Thursday morning.

Milwaukee, Wisc., is in a critical battleground state, and the post drew the ire of both the campaign and lawmakers who were present for Trump's comments.

"In a desperate attempt to get likes, Fake News Jake Sherman—who wasn't even in the room—falsely claimed that President Trump called Milwaukee a 'horrible city.' It's a total lie," the campaign said in a press release. "President Trump was explicitly referring to the problems in Milwaukee, specifically violent crime and voter fraud [emphasis original]."

The campaign further included statements from Wisconsin GOP Reps. Bryan Steil, Glenn Grothman, Tom Tiffany, and Derrick Van Orden, who mostly insisted that Trump's remarks were in the context of election integrity or crime, though they offered slightly different explanations.

"I was in the room. President Trump did not say this. There is no better place than Wisconsin in July," Steil said. 

Van Order said Trump was referring to "the CRIME RATE in Milwaukee" while Grothman said he was "concerned about the election in Milwaukee," and Tiffany said he made the comment "in the context of election integrity."

Sherman, for his part, has stood firm on the accuracy of his reporting, highlighting the competing explanations and insisting "Trump absolutely said it - undoubtedly. People hear what they want. This is familiar to all who have covered Trump or Trump-adjacent stories for the last 10 or so years."