WAUNAKEE, Wis. — Former President Donald Trump made his first ever trip to Dane County on Tuesday, just three days after he rallied on the topic of immigration two hours down the road in Prairie du Chien.
The first of two same day stops in battleground Wisconsin came at Dane Manufacturing in Waunakee—a place that has been traditionally reliable for Democrats. A Republican presidential nominee has not campaigned in Dane County for 28 years.
Even so, Dane County usually delivers the third most Republican votes of any county in the state. Trump used the opportunity to stick to familiar remarks about taxes and tariffs.
“We can soon have soaring incomes, skyrocketing wealth, millions and millions of new jobs, a manufacturing renaissance, and a booming middle class, which is really why I am here to talk about that,” Trump said. “That’s why I’m in this beautiful factory.”
During his remarks that neared 90 minutes, Trump vowed no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, and no tax on social security, as well as to cut energy costs by 50% in the first 12 months, if elected.
“I want clean air and clean water,” Trump told the crowd. “Really clean water, really clean air—beyond that, we have to have jobs, and we have to have success. We have to rebuild our country.”
Though about 500 people managed to get inside Tuesday, thousands stood outside.
“I was pretty excited. Like usually I feel like they don’t come to these small towns and places like that, but that’s really exciting,” Emma Mejchar of Portage said.
For those in the long line, the chance to see the Republican candidate was worth the wait.
“I think it just energizes people,” Edward Schnaubelt of Waunakee explained. “You know, in the last two weeks I’ve seen signs go up everywhere, both downtown [and] in the farmer fields, people are very excited about it.”
Trump picked up almost 36% of the vote in Waunakee in 2020, which tends to be a more conservative part of an otherwise liberal county where he got less than 23% overall.
“You don’t have to vote one way. You can vote another way, but just get out there and vote,” Trump said with voting already underway in Wisconsin. “A lot of people say vote by ballot, vote by this, you can also go—it doesn’t matter. But make sure your vote is counted. We’re going to leave nothing to chance and everything on the field. 35 days from now we’re going to win Wisconsin and we’re going to defeat Kamala Harris, and we’re going to Make America Great Again.”
Among the latest polls out of Wisconsin comes from ActiVote, which shows Vice President Harris with a 4% lead over former President Trump among likely voters as of Monday. However, the race is still neck-and-neck when the margin of error is factored.
Ahead of Trump’s visit to the Badger State, Democratic Gov. Tony Evers called his presidency a “disaster for Wisconsin.”
“A second term would be a heck of a lot worse – Trump’s extreme Project 2025 agenda would hurt working families, cut Social Security and Medicare, dismantle support for public education across the country, and more,” Gov. Evers said in a statement. “I know Wisconsin families, and they’re going to reject him again in November. Vice President Harris is the only candidate in this race fighting to lower costs, cut taxes, and invest in Wisconsin’s future.”
Since accepting the Republican Party’s nomination for president in Milwaukee last July, Trump has been to Wisconsin four times. Tuesday marked his seventh and eighth campaign events in the state so far this year.