Wisconsin Senate candidate Eric Hovde criticized President Joe Biden and Sen. Tammy Baldwin, calling for Wisconsinites to rally around him and former President Donald Trump to “get the job done” during his speech on day two of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.
Hovde’s speech focused on Biden’s strategy at the border, and on multiple foreign policy issues, including Israel’s war in Gaza. Playing into the RNC’s day two theme, “Make America Safe Once Again,” Hovde criticized Baldwin’s complicity in Biden’s decisions, calling her a “rubber stamp” for his administration.
“Biden, with Baldwin’s help, has weakened us in every way, making Americans less safe,” Hovde said, pointing to security issues at home and internationally.
Hovde blamed the Biden administration for issues at the Southern border that allow “terrorists to enter our country” and for “their defund the police movement.”
Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have not supported calls for the defunding or dismantling of police. While Baldwin has supported police reform legislation, she does not endorse defunding the police.
On the international security level, Hovde condemned the president’s “incompetent” withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, linking movements by “adversaries” such as Russian President Valdimir Putin, Iran, Hamas and China to that decision.
“[They] are getting more aggressive every day,” Hovde said. “Despite all that, Tammy Baldwin called the Biden administration the most successful in generations. Can you believe that one?”
While Biden did remove the remaining U.S. troops from Afghanistan during his term, the deadline for the withdrawal was set during the Trump presidency, a result of negotiations between the Taliban and the Trump administration.
Hovde closed out his speech with a call for unity, a common theme in the wake of the attempted assassination of Trump at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday.
“Instead of putting on just the blue jersey or the red jersey, we need to put on the red, white and blue jersey and come together as Americans,” Hovde said.
In the same part of his speech, Hovde said the country needs to heal “from the division that the left has brought.”
Hovde’s appearance at the RNC comes as the latest Marquette Law School poll has him trailing 5% to Baldwin.
Anna Kleiber is the state news editor for The Daily Cardinal. She previously served as the arts editor. Anna has written in-depth on elections, legislative maps and campus news. She has interned with WisPolitics and Madison Magazine. Follow her on Twitter at @annakleiber03.
Gabriella Hartlaub is the former arts editor for The Daily Cardinal. She has also written state politics and campus news. She currently is a summer reporting intern with Raleigh News and Observer. Follow her on Twitter at @gabihartlaub.
