MILWAUKEE—Today, on the same day as President Donald Trump’s visit to Milwaukee, Priorities Wisconsin, Human Rights Campaign, Protect Our Care Wisconsin, NextGen Wisconsin and Tax March are calling out President Trump for his many broken promises to the people of Wisconsin:

“If the theme of Trump’s rally is ‘Promises made, promises kept,’ you can expect a short rally,” said Cassidy Geoghegan, Wisconsin Outreach Director at Priorities USA. “The truth is, Trump’s economy isn’t benefiting most Wisconsinites – health care costs in Wisconsin continue to rise, farmers are having to sell their cows and close down their operations and wages just aren’t keeping up. Meanwhile, Trump has been rewarding billionaires and big corporations with giant tax cuts and enacted policies that increased the cost of health care.”

“Trump claimed he would be a friend to the LGBTQ community, but he has spent nearly every day of his three years in office attacking the most vulnerable and working to undermine civil rights,” said HRC President Alphonso David. “From needlessly banning transgender troops from serving to attacking access to health care for LGBTQ people, Trump has utilized his administration to attack almost every facet of the lives of LGBTQ people. After the 2016 election, HRC put boots on the ground in states across the country, including Wisconsin, to ensure Trump is a one-term President. We must stop this President’s attacks, and we must stop him at the ballot box — LGBTQ lives are on the line.”

“In the fall of 2018 President Trump stood on a stage in Mosinee and promised to act on prescription drug prices,” said Joe Zepecki, Protect Our Care Wisconsin State Director. “But just last month, Trump announced he would veto landmark legislation that has already passed the House of Representatives and would lower prescription drug costs. When it comes to lowering prescription drug costs, President Trump has broken his promise to Wisconsinites.”

“Trump promised to drain the swamp but young Wisconsinites know they are being sold out and lied too,” said Christina Carvalho, Operations Director, NextGen Wisconsin. “Climate change, the student loan crisis, affordable healthcare, and immigrant rights can’t wait another 4 years.  Trump’s trip to our state is just another reminder of the immense weight on the shoulders of young people to register, mobilize, and vote leaders into office who will respect our issues and listen to our voices.”

“Wisconsin has suffered the brunt of Trump’s terrible economic policies – from his trade wars to the Trump tax cuts – over the past three years,” said Brian Eisold, Wisconsin Tax March Organizer. “In 2019, Wisconsin saw more family farms shuttered from bankruptcy than anywhere else in the country. While Trump and his allies in Congress have prioritized helping the wealthy and well off, he has done nothing to help Wisconsin farmers. All he has done is promise to make 2020 even more disastrous for our state.”

Trump’s lies vs. Wisconsinites’ realities

  • Trump claims that his administration has successfully brought down the cost of health care. In reality, health care costs have skyrocketed under Trump, thanks in part to his own sabotage of the Affordable Care Act. In Wisconsin, health care costs are the 7th worst in the nation. 

  • Trump has said multiple times that Americans are raking in billions from his tariffs and that farmers are benefiting in particular. The reality is that his reckless trade war has cost Wisconsin families $830 million so far in additional taxes, raising prices for businesses and consumers, contributing to the loss of 6,500 manufacturing jobs in the first nine months of 2019 alone, and putting incredible financial strain on our farmers. In fact, Wisconsin leads the nation in farm bankruptcies and has lost at least 1,800 farms since Trump took office. 

  • Trump constantly brags that the U.S. economy is “great” and the “best it’s ever been.” In truth, American families are struggling to keep their heads above water in his economy. Workers’ wages aren’t keeping up—nearly one in five Wisconsin workers earn wages that fail to cover the cost of basic expenses. The money that they do make is often not sufficient to support a middle-class lifestyle. In some Wisconsin communities, even working two full-time jobs isn’t enough. One report found that in Dane County, residents need to work almost three full-time, minimum-wage jobs just to afford a two-bedroom apartment.

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