Former President Donald Trump’s Milwaukee rally on Friday took an unexpected turn due to technical issues that left him visibly frustrated. As he addressed the crowd at the Fiserv Forum—a venue also chosen for July’s GOP convention—microphone glitches prompted Trump to pull the mic from its holder, addressing supporters with it in hand.
The crowd, echoing Trump’s frustration, began chanting, “Fix the mic!” In response, Trump joked about his reputation for holding contractors accountable: “I think this mic stinks, by the way. And then we don’t pay the contractor. I say don’t pay the contractor, then they write a story, ‘Trump doesn’t pay his bills, he’s a bad guy,’” he said.
Visibly annoyed, Trump questioned the audience, “Do you want to see me knock the hell out of people backstage?” referring to the technical hiccup as a “pretty stupid situation.” Expressing his frustration further, he remarked, “I’m up here seething. I’m working my ass off with this stupid mic. I’m blowing out my left arm, now I’m going to blow out my right arm, and I’m blowing out my damn throat too.”
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Despite the mic issues, Trump’s message resonated with his supporters as he reiterated themes from recent rallies. He took aim at former first lady Michelle Obama, labeling her as “nasty,” questioned Vice President Kamala Harris’s qualifications, and doubled down on his intent to tackle immigration issues at the southern border.
Milwaukee marked Trump’s final planned stop in the swing state of Wisconsin before Election Day. With upcoming rallies scheduled for Saturday in Virginia and North Carolina, Sunday in North Carolina and Georgia, and Monday in Pennsylvania and Michigan, Trump is working to energize his base in key battleground states. Although he narrowly won Wisconsin in 2016, he lost the state in 2020 by approximately 20,000 votes. Polls from Decision Desk HQ and The Hill show Trump and Harris neck-and-neck in the Badger State as Election Day approaches.
