Mary Spicuzza, and Meg Jones

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

West Allis — President-elect Donald Trump's Tuesday night "thank you" tour stop in Wisconsin often sounded a lot like an extended victory lap.

"I'm here today for one main reason," Trump told the crowd at the packed Wisconsin State Fair Exposition Center. "To say 'thank you' to the people of Wisconsin."

During his nearly hourlong speech, Trump repeatedly marveled at his surprise win. He ticked off a list of states that were reported to be in play, detailing the shock as he was called a winner in each of them.

"That map was bleeding red!" Trump said.

He also repeatedly mocked the media, calling reporters "very dishonest people" and saying news organizations were "devastated" when he won on election night.

His speech was met with occasional chants of "Media sucks!" and "CNN sucks!" Some in the crowd shouted, "Liars!" when he complained that news coverage was biased against him.

But on Tuesday night, Trump had nothing but praise for Wisconsin Republicans. Many of the state's GOP leaders joined him at the rally, including Sen. Ron Johnson, Reince Priebus, U.S. Rep. Sean Duffy, Gov. Scott Walker, House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald.

Trump and Ryan had a strained relationship throughout the election, but in West Allis, the president-elect said he has come to appreciate Ryan's genius "like a fine wine."

But he also added that he won't praise Ryan anymore if he goes against him.

During the presidential primary, Trump had mocked Walker, saying he was the one who drove Walker out of the 2016 presidential race and "sent him packing like a little boy."

On Tuesday, he praised Walker's toughness and leadership.

"I give a lot of credit to your governor," he later added. "I give a lot of credit to Paul Ryan."

During his speech, Milwaukee County Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr. mocked reports of Russian interference in the presidential election, calling it "the Russian conspiracy," and said the United States intelligence should instead investigate George Soros and liberal threats against conservatives.

Duffy struck a similar tone, accusing Democrats — whom he called "whiny sore losers" — of trying to diminish Trump's victory.

People lined up in the bitter cold for hours before Trump's rally. Many came from Illinois, deciding to drive up to Wisconsin because Trump was not stopping in their state — which he lost.

Peggy Geldenreich drove from northern Illinois with her husband and son.

"We know he's not going to come to Illinois but a friend told us he was coming to West Allis," she said. "I like his message and I think he wants to put us back on the right track."

The first people in line outside the State Fair Exposition Center were a couple from Nebraska who drove 13 hours to Trump's rally, arriving at 3:30 a.m. and spending the next 12 1/2 hours in bitterly cold weather.

Live Coverage: Donald Trump in West Allis

Trump's visit came one day after Wisconsin elections officials completed a recount requested by Green Party candidate Jill Stein. The recount confirmed Trump won the state by some 22,000 votes.

He mocked the recount during his speech, saying he was not going to call it "a scam."



Trump — the first Republican presidential candidate to win Wisconsin since 1984, when the state backed Ronald Reagan — has been traveling around the country holding rallies on a "thank you" tour. Other stops include Iowa, Louisiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Florida and Alabama.

At a merchandise table filled with sweatshirts, T-shirts and "Make America Great Again" hats, lines stretched a dozen people deep. Kristi Kuehn of Black Earth bought two hats and a blue hooded sweatshirt.

"I'm really excited. I hope the Democrats let us enjoy it," Kuehn said. "This is the most excited people have been in a while."

That seems unlikely. While Wisconsin's top Republicans have united around Trump, the state's Democrats welcomed the president-elect with sharp criticisms of his dismissive response to reports of Russian interference in the election as well as his cabinet picks.

"He needs to spend less time at Trump Tower and more time with U.S. intelligence professionals going over his daily intelligence briefing," U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore, a Milwaukee Democrat, said in a statement. "Ignoring these briefings is a disservice to the American people, even if he does not necessarily like what he hears."

As the rally was set to begin, Patti Bellissimo sat on her coat on the floor of the Expo Center reading a paperback, "The Gods of Newport," to pass the time. A pediatrician from the Madison area, Bellissimo, who is Catholic and against abortion, said she was happy to see Trump elected because of Supreme Court nominations in the next four years.

"I don't think President Obama was friendly to health care," Bellissimo said. "People don't value health care as much as they used to. Trump may bring more of a business model."

It was the fourth Trump rally for Dan Zielinski, 21, a University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee student, his brother Jordan and friend Grant Kosanke, both 17. The three volunteered for Trump in Menomonee Falls and got the chance to meet him on the day of the Wisconsin primary, posing for pictures with the president-elect.

"I like the way he carries himself. I like that he's not a politician," said Dan Zielinski, who voted in his first presidential election last month. "He brings a viewpoint that politicians don't have."