You can almost detect a hint of pity in Milwaukee’s mayor. Knight Johnsonhis voice when he spoke about the state of the GOP under Donald Trump. “It’s hard to be the party of moral integrity,” the Democrat told me over the phone, “when your nominee is paying off porn stars.”
In late June—not long after Trump reportedly described Milwaukee as “bad” in a closed-door meeting with diehard congressional Republicans; just days ago an important debate; and just a few short weeks before the GOP descends on that very city to nominate Trump for a third consecutive presidential term. I wanted to get Johnson’s thoughts on Trump’s comments (and subsequent clumsy attempts to save face with residents of that swing state’s most populous city). But I also wanted to know how the 37-year-old Democrat—Milwaukee’s first black mayor, whose political star rose overwhelming victory in re-election this spring—feeling like hosting a party that has become increasingly corrupt, dangerous, and anti-democratic since Trump was defeated by Joe Biden in 2020.
Unsurprisingly, Johnson disagrees with the former president’s assessment of his “great” city: “He was obviously wrong,” Johnson said. But he’s excited to showcase his hometown on the national stage — and the stark contrast between Trump’s party and the one that will convene less than a hundred miles south later this summer. Trump “thinks about himself, not the American people,” Johnson said. “In Chicago, in [Democratic National Convention], [voters will] Look at how hard Joe Biden has worked to deliver for the average American.”
In a conversation with Vanity Fair, In a tweet that has been lightly edited for clarity and brevity, Johnson weighed in on Trump’s “bizarre” remarks, the Republican Party’s identity crisis and his advice to Biden as he seeks to repeat the 2020 win in Wisconsin that paved his way to the White House: “Go out and tell the positive story of the administration.”
Vanity Fair: I know you’ve talked about this before, but I want to start by asking you again about Trump’s comments about your city, along with report that he had planned to stay in Chicago—a city he also derided, although he also has a building named after him there. How did he react to that and his subsequent denials that he had called the city “terrible”?
Knight Johnson: I have to look back, but even in the last few weeks, he’s been saying Milwaukee is a terrible city; Detroit is not the greatest city; Philadelphia is not a great place.—I think there are some commonalities between these places. So you have to look at those. But specifically with Milwaukee—you know, that’s really interesting. When I hear reports from Washington, DC, that Republicans are supporting Donald Trump, that’s, He is talking about crime. No, he’s talking about election integrity. No, he didn’t actually say that. They turned themselves into pretzels. But he was clearly wrong. He was wrong about Philadelphia and Detroit and other places.
Milwaukee is a wonderful, wonderful, splendid, wonderful, wonderful city. [in which] I’m fortunate enough to wake up every day as mayor and have the opportunity to serve and lead. And when you go into neighborhoods all over the city, they’re diverse, they’re vibrant—they’re filled with people who care about the city. And I also think that’s not a smart political strategy, because there are tens of thousands of Republicans who live in the city of Milwaukee, who call this place home, who raised their kids here, and are an integral part of our community—and you call their homes terrible? And for a guy who’s trying to reach people of color—this is the most diverse place in the state of Wisconsin, with the most black people in the state living within the city limits, and you call their homes terrible? It’s bizarre.
