Trump courts black voters in West Bend speech

West Bend — Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump went to the suburbs Tuesday night to talk about America's inner cities, court African-American voters and lay out a plan to restore law and order in the country.

"I'm asking for the vote of every African-American citizen struggling in our country today who wants a different and much better future," Trump said in Washington County, which has a black population of 1.2%, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

"It's time for our society to address some honest and very, very difficult truths," Trump said. "The Democratic Party has failed and betrayed the African-American community. Democratic crime policies, education policies and economic policies have produced only more crime, more broken homes and more poverty."

He ticked off statistics on crime, poverty and education that have plagued Milwaukee, which he said was a city run by Democrats "decade after decade."

"To every voter in Milwaukee, to every voter living in the inner city or every forgotten stretch of our society, I'm running to offer you a much better future, a much better job," Trump said.

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The setting for the speech, not in the heart of Milwaukee but at the Washington County fairgrounds around 25 miles from the central city, appeared to be at odds with Trump's pitch for  African-American votes.

Trump's message of bolstering law enforcement with community outreach and more effective policing was well-received by the audience, which cheered when Trump said: "The war on our police must end and it must end now."

Trump's speech came as Milwaukee was still recovering from two nights of unrest in the Sherman Park neighborhood following the Saturday afternoon shooting of an armed suspect by a Milwaukee police officer.

It also culminated a major, daylong push by Trump in Wisconsin, where he trails Democrat Hillary Clinton by 15% among likely voters, according to an August Marquette University Law School poll.

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Trump dashed from La Crosse to Milwaukee to West Bend. He held two fundraisers, appeared at a town hall meeting at the Pabst Theater and then gave his major policy address.

And for the first time in the general election campaign in Wisconsin, Trump was on the same stage as Gov. Scott Walker, the man he vanquished early in the GOP primaries.

Walker, who missed Trump's previous appearance in Green Bay to survey flood damage in northern Wisconsin, was with Trump at a taping of a town hall meeting at the Pabst Theater that was hosted by Sean Hannity of Fox News. He later introduced Trump in West Bend.

Walker called Clinton "unfit" to be president and said the country wants a change.

"There is only one person who has a track record in the private sector and a track record in this campaign to truly take on Washington," Walker said as he introduced Trump in West Bend.

In his speech, Trump said, "Crime and violence is an attack on the poor and will never be accepted in a Trump administration."

"The problem in our poorest communities is not that there are too many police, it's there are not enough police," Trump said. He added that Clinton gave a supportive nod to "those peddling the narrative of cops as a racist force in our society." He said they "share directly in the responsibility for the unrest in Milwaukee and many other places within our country."

Trump said he would deliver safe neighborhoods in Milwaukee, which he added has "so many problems, so many problems."

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The crowd that packed the Washington County Fair Park & Conference Center appreciated Trump's message on law and order. But his emphasis on Milwaukee fell flat with some.

"People up here don't really care about what's going on in Milwaukee," said Jared Gagnon-Palick of West Bend, as he stopped to buy a Trump button in the parking lot after the rally.

"I grew up in Milwaukee, and I moved here to get away from all the crime with three little kids," he said.

Earlier Tuesday, Trump discussed events in Milwaukee's Sherman Park neighborhood. He told Fox News Channel, according to a transcript, "We have to obey the laws or we don't have a country. We have a case where good people are out there trying to get people to sort of calm down and they're not calming down and we have our police who do a phenomenal job."

Although full details of the police shooting have not been disclosed, Trump added, "In this case, a gun was pointed at his (the police officer's) head. I guess and I would assume the tapes are going to be revealed at some point."

Police have said the man refused to drop his gun but have not said it was pointed at the officer.

Trump also met with Milwaukee County Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr. at the Milwaukee County War Memorial Center. Clarke said he and Trump discussed public safety issues, including the recent unrest. Trump also met with military veterans.

“He understands the importance of public safety. He gets it,” said Clarke, who runs as a Democrat.

Later, Clarke joined Walker and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani at the town hall event at the Pabst Theater.

During the town hall event, Trump said he planned on providing aid to Syrian refugees abroad but denounced Clinton's plan to allow Syrian refugees to resettle in the United States.

"I have as big a heart as anybody," Trump said. "We can care for people, we'll create safe zones. ... We'll do something. We have to have the Gulf states pay for it."

Trump said he would vet people trying to enter the United States by relying on "very smart people."

"And beyond that," he said, "you use social media. There are a lot of these people, and they're better at social media than we are."

Trump said the December  San Bernardino terrorist attack could have been prevented if the FBI had looked at the online presence of the attack's perpetrators.

Karen Herzog reported for this story from West Bend, with Bill Glauber and Hannah Schwarz in Milwaukee. Maggie Angst and Lee Bergquist of the Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this report.