TOPLINE
President Trump will visit Green Bay, Wisconsin on Thursday to promote a federal shipbuilding contract awarded to the city in April, as a series of new polls show him following former Vice President Joe Biden by wide margins in the state.
KEY FACTS
Trump is slated to tour the Fincantieri Marinette Marine shipyard, which was awarded a $ 800 million contract to build the first of a new class of guided-missile frigates for the U.S. Navy, in an acquisition that will have value total of $ 5.5 billion.
If given the options for the next 19 ships, it should keep the shipyard busy for the next two decades and lead to the hiring of 1,000 new workers, but Trump’s celebration comes in the context of more than 14% unemployment in the state .
Trump won Wisconsin in 2016, but three new polls released Thursday have him behind Biden in the state by wide margins, including a poll of 600 potential voters by Republican firm Hodas & Associates that has Biden leading by 16 points, 55%. to 39%.
The Hodas & Associates survey gave Trump a 41% approval rating, compared to 57% disapproval, and put approval for his coronavirus response 20 points underwater.
Critical boss
“Today, Donald Trump is on Marinette to take credit for the successes fueled by the Obama-Biden administration in an attempt to cover up the fact that Wisconsin has been bleeding blue collar manufacturing jobs in recent weeks,” he said. Biden’s campaign in a statement. statement. “Instead of offering real relief to working families, he is trying to claim credit for the progress on Marinette that he did not build.”
Key background
Trump’s trip follows a visit from Vice President Mike Pence and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on Tuesday as part of Pence’s ‘Faith in America’ campaign. Pence and DeVos hit traditional republican boards like school choice, religious faith, and law and order.
News Peg
In addition to Wisconsin, Trump and Pence have been making frequent visits to Arizona, a state that Trump won by 4 points in 2016, but which has been trending toward Democrats in recent years. The Trump campaign hoped to make a move for states that Hillary Clinton won, such as Minnesota and New Mexico, but was forced to defend herself instead, in some cases in previously secure Republican states.
What to look
Trump will also participate in a town hall interview with Fox News presenter Sean Hannity at 9 p.m. EST.