MILWAUKEE — The second day of the Republican National Convention drew a contradictory crowd to downtown Milwaukee. Vendors, protesters, and Trump supporters gathered outside of the secure perimeter of the convention Tuesday.
As delegates prepare to nominate former President Donald Trump as the Republican Party’s official candidate, those who are not credentialed to enter the heavily secured inner perimeter sell wares, protest the event or show their support for Trump outside.
Many ventured from thousands of miles away to spread their message — either for or against the convention.
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Nadine Seiler, 59, flew from Waldorf, Maryland, to raise awareness against Project 2025, a blueprint for what a second term in office for Trump would look like.
Project 2025 calls for increased conservatism, expanding presidential power, and extreme policies such as mass deportations, cutting federal agencies, and banning pornography.
Seiler said anyone who is concerned about democracy and wants America to remain a democratic republic should be concerned about Project 2025.
Seiler said she would like Biden and the Democrats to unite apathetic voters to cast ballots against Trump so the American public does not have to find out if Project 2025 is a Trump proposal.
Originally from Trinidad and Tobago, Seiler immigrated to America and said she is speaking for other immigrants who are not able to speak for themselves.
“Now that I have a voice, I am going to advocate, and I’m going to speak for the people who are in the shadows and who cannot speak,” she said.
Seiler said she won’t vote for Trump but doesn’t want to vote for Biden either.
“Biden is not a demagogue, and Biden doesn’t want to be dictator on day one,” Seiler said. “So, if I have to hold my nose and vote for the old man who doesn’t have it all together, I am going to vote for the old man.”
Project 2025 is gaining attention as Trump attempts to moderate his stated positions on abortion and same-sex marriage.
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Pushing a new GOP platform, Trump softened the party’s positions on abortion and same-sex marriage. Released by the Republican National Committee, but reportedly drafted by Trump’s aides, the platform was approved on Monday.
Titled “2024 GOP Platform Make America Great Again,” the platform is the committee’s first since 2016, as it opted out of creating one in 2020.
Randy Krone, a public school teacher from St. Louis, Missouri, said he is not overly happy about Trump toning down his rhetoric about abortion and same-sex marriage.
Krone said this is a campaign tactic, and he hopes Trump will be elected president and then revert back to his previous pro-life stance.
For Trump’s vice president pick, Krone said he would have preferred Senator Marco Rubio, R-Florida, but Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, was his second choice.
Krone said Vance might attract some young people who aren’t involved in politics to the Republican Party, and he will be very important for the Midwest.
Selling Trump stickers for $5 to passersby, Billy Pollard traveled from Atlanta, Georgia, to sell his merchandise and spread support for Trump.
Pollard said he does not know much about Vance, but he trusts Trump’s pick for vice president.
“He’s young, but he’s a leader, otherwise Trump wouldn’t have picked him,” Pollard said.
Locals and out-of-towners
Sheltering from the sun in a shady area outside of the convention security entrance to Baird Center, Milwaukee resident and retired county deputy sheriff Kelly Swedberg sat next to her husband, a retired firefighter wearing a tank top reading “Black Lives Matter.” The pair stuck out against others on the street adorned in various Trump and MAGA merchandise.
Swedberg plans to vote for President Biden because she feels as though there is no other choice. She said Trump removing abortion and LGBTQ+ rights from the party’s platform is a campaign tactic.
“I think he’s playing up to somebody,” Swedberg said. “It’s all a work. I think it’s all fake. He’s just playing into whoever, probably Wisconsin people or whoever that he thinks maybe are leaning that way, but I don’t believe that he’s changed.”
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Out-of-staters ventured to the convention to make a profit selling Trump merchandise.
From MAGA hats and anti-Biden posters to Trump cereal and cigarettes, father-daughter duo LeAnn and Peter Crotty flew from Orlando, Florida, to set up a merchandise table outside of the convention.
Flashing a photo of his father hosting a Nixon rally in the 1960s, Peter Crotty said he has been involved in politics since he was a child. Crotty said he is very involved with the Republican party and is currently running for state committee in Florida.
LeAnn’s shirt read, “I’m voting for the felon.”
She said she is unbothered by Trump’s recent felony convictions and plans to vote for him because of the change he made in the economy during his presidency.
“I know a lot of people have hard feelings about him,” LeAnn said. “He’s very opinionated. He’s very outlandish. But the fact of the matter is our economy was doing better.”
The duo’s table was set up outside a security point, where police guarded a gate, allowing more police to move through the restricted areas on bikes, ATVs, and horseback.
With an American flag shawl draped over her shoulders, Linda Serpe, 74, of Kenosha, Wisconsin, pushed her walker along the barricaded sidewalk outside of Baird Center.
Serpe was at the convention to attend the Moms for Liberty events. Serpe is a long-time Trump supporter and said she is excited to vote for him again come November.
Serpe said the first time Trump ran for office, she picked him out as a front-runner.
“I thought a businessman could take over the country better because nothing good was happening,” Serpe said. “The country was going downhill as far as I could see.”
Andrew Melcher does not align with either political party, but he traveled from Texas to stand outside the entrance to Baird Center and hand out pamphlets advocating for election reform and expansion of representation in Congress.
Melcher said America is a “fake democracy” as only a small group of individuals hold political power, and more people should be politically active by casting ballots in elections.
“How can it be in the land of the free that our greatest act of freedom isn’t celebrated?” Melcher said. “All you have to do is ask because nobody cares. Nobody cares about what they vote on.”