Trump visits GOP Capitol Hill, trashes Milwaukee

What happened

Donald Trump returned to Capitol Hill on Thursday for the first time since his supporters stormed Congress on Jan. 6, 2021. Trump met separately with House and Senate Republicans, in what The Associated Press said was a "triumphant return" to a Washington "successfully purged" of his GOP critics.

Who said what

The meetings were supposed to highlight GOP unity under Trump's leadership, but "much of the focus was instead on stray comments he made," The New York Times said. "Perhaps most striking," Trump disparaged Milwaukee, "site of the Republican National Convention in July." Milwaukee "is a horrible city," he said, according to Jake Sherman at Punchbowl News.

"Republican members of Wisconsin's congressional delegation offered varying accounts of the comment's context," saying he was talking about crime or voter fraud, "and one claimed it wasn't uttered at all," the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel said.

Trump also reportedly made odd comments about Taylor Swift, Nancy Pelosi and "nice guy" Hannibal Lecter, the fictional cannibal. One Republican attendee said to NOTUS that Trump's "rambling" performance was "like talking to your drunk uncle at the family reunion."

What next?

Trump plans to host House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) at Mar-a-Lago next week to discuss policy, Axios said.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up