Bill Glauber, Craig Gilbert and Meg Jones

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

WAUKESHA, Wis. — When it comes to campaigning in Wisconsin, Donald Trump is following the advice of former Republican Gov. Tommy Thompson.

Speaking to more than 1,000 supporters gathered Wednesday night at the Waukesha County Expo Center, Trump said that Thompson told him during a previous visit, "Don, I really like you. Get the hell out of here .… You’re not going to win this state .... But if anything changes, I’ll call you."

Two weeks ago, Trump said he received a call from Thompson, who said that with the polls tightening, "Don, time to come back."

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"And I’m back and we’re going to win Wisconsin," Trump said. "We’re going to win Wisconsin."

With less than six weeks left in the campaign, Trump came to Wisconsin's Republican heartland with a mission to shore up his base and take the attack to Democrat Hillary Clinton.

During a 42-minute speech, Trump excoriated Clinton over her private email server as secretary of State, called her the "most incompetent of all," and said she lacked "the character and judgment to hold public office."

"The American people have had it with years and decades of Clinton scandals and their total corruption," Trump said. "This year will be the year when Americans say, 'Enough is enough.'"

Using a refrain of "follow the money," Trump sought to tie Clinton to Wall Street investors, wealthy donors and special interests "who want open borders for cheap labor."

Trump called Clinton a "globalist" who had "failed at everything" from foreign policy to bringing jobs to upstate New York when she was a U.S. senator.

As he did in a previous appearance in West Bend, he made a pitch for African-American votes. He said Clinton had failed the inner city and predicted African-American communities would not vote for her because "they're too smart and they know they're being used."

"People in Milwaukee are going to love Donald Trump," he said. "We’re going to have safety ... we’re going to save thousands of lives."

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The crowd roared with approval.

“Donald Trump was very energized," said Joe Weber, a Sussex voter attending his first Trump rally. "I think he spoke the truth. I think he addressed every point that the American people are really concerned about. I think Trump’s going to take it.”

That's clearly Trump's plan.

At one point in the speech, he said: “If we don’t win, it will be one of the great wastes of time, energy and money — certainly in my life, that I can tell you.”

Trump needs to do well in Waukesha County. He lost the ultra-Republican area and its neighboring counties by roughly 40 points in Wisconsin’s April GOP primary, and since then the region has been slower than many other Republican areas to coalesce behind him as the nominee.

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In polling in recent months by Marquette University Law School, Trump has been running under 50% in Waukesha, a county where the Republican vote in big elections runs in the high 60s and low 70s.

In four surveys since July, Trump is leading Clinton in the county 41% to 27%, followed by Libertarian Gary Johnson at 10% (based on a combined sample of 215 registered voters in Waukesha County).

Thompson implored Republicans to get out the vote in Waukesha and said: "Some Republicans, it's time to get on the train. The Trump Train is moving."

Milwaukee County Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr. drew cheers and told the crowd: "I see a base that can’t wait to kick the door down and can’t wait to cast a vote for Donald Trump to be the next president of the United States."

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Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani said Clarke was one of his "heroes" and added, "If I was still mayor of New York, I'd steal him away to be police commissioner."

Giuliani took on the role of "attack dog" as he ripped into Clinton for what he claimed were her scandals. He told the crowd that Clinton failed her bar exam to practice law in Washington, D.C., on her first try.

Due to a scheduling conflict, Gov. Scott Walker wasn't at the rally. But Walker did continue debate prep this week in Madison with GOP vice presidential nominee Mike Pence. In mock debates, Walker has been playing the role of Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine.

Outside the Trump rally, a line of Trump supporters snaked all the way around the parking lot, many wearing Trump T-shirts and buttons or purchasing Trump items from vendors pulling wagons filled with gear. About half an hour before the rally began, though, people with tickets were turned away after the center filled up.

John and Claudia Kasprzak drove 1 hour and 20 minutes from Antioch, Ill., only to find out they couldn't get in because the Expo Center was already full.

They came all the way from Illinois, "because he's no nonsense. He's got a little more head on his shoulders than Hillary," said Claudia Kasprzak.

"He doesn't kowtow to anybody," said John Kasprzak before helping his wife choose a Trump hat from a vendor stationed at the exit of the Expo Center's parking lot.

A couple dozen anti-Trump protesters stood along the road next to a fence outside the Expo Center holding up signs that said "Mr. Hate Leave My State," "Show Us Your Tax Returns" and "Trump Ducks Releasing His Tax Returns." A group from Voces de la Frontera stood on the road chanting and singing.

Bernie Gonzalez, an Army veteran from Waukesha, said Trump has created so much divisiveness within the Latino community.

"It's important for people to know Donald Trump would be dangerous. He doesn't have any qualifications to be commander-in-chief," said Gonzalez.

Democrats criticized Trump for his "divisive rhetoric" toward women and minorities and called on him to "pay his fair share of taxes."

After the speech, Philip Shulman, a state Democratic Party spokesman, said: "Just like in Monday's debate, Donald Trump was unhinged and incoherent, putting on full display that he does not have the temperament to be president of the United States. Donald Trump's divisive rhetoric and dangerous policy proposals disqualify him at home and abroad."

Follow Bill Glauber, Craig Gilbert and Meg Jones on Twitter: @BillGlauber, @wisvoter and @MegJonesJS