The Republican National Convention is walking back a plan to rename Herb Kohl Way after former President Donald Trump.
Workers for the convention covered up Herb Kohl Way with a wrap reading “Donald J. Trump Way” ahead of the RNC in Milwaukee next week. Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI) served as Wisconsin’s senator from 1989 to 2013 and was the owner of the Milwaukee Bucks.
New RNC signage is turning “Herb Kohl Way” into “Donald J. Trump Way.”
Kohl was a longtime Democratic senator who famously kept the Bucks in Milwaukee as a condition of his sale of the team. He died in December pic.twitter.com/A9QdHgnrbK
— A.J. Bayatpour (@AJBayatpour) July 12, 2024
“This is a slap in the face to every Wisconsinite. If you can’t respect what Herb Kohl has done for Wisconsin you don’t deserve any Wisconsin vote. Period! This is the (Herb Kohl) Way. The disrespect,” Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley said on X.
A Milwaukee native, Kohl is largely credited with keeping the Bucks in Milwaukee after he purchased the team in 1985 and again in 2015 after talks of moving the team to Las Vegas. As the old arena did not meet NBA standards, Fiserv Forum was completed in 2018 and contributed to a new downtown area with restaurants and bars known as the Deer District.
Most events at the RNC will take place at Fiserv Forum, including Trump’s acceptance speech where he will officially become the Republican Party’s presidential nominee.
Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson said he spoke with organizers at the RNC where they came to an agreement to take down the sign. Johnson said he went to the Deer District, where Fiserv Forum is located in Milwaukee, to confirm the signs were taken down himself.
“As soon as I learned that the honorary sign bearing his name was covered, I reached out,” Johnson said on X. “Convention organizers understood the importance of Senator Kohl to our community and the covering signage has been removed. I just left the Deer District after verifying myself.”
Convention organizers understood the importance of Senator Kohl to our community and the covering signage has been removed.
I just left the Deer District after verifying myself.— Mayor Cavalier Johnson (@MayorMKE) July 13, 2024
Rep. Gwen Moore (D-WI), whose district encompasses the city of Milwaukee, called the move “completely inappropriate” and “an insult to Herb Kohl’s legacy.”
This was completely inappropriate & an insult to Herb Kohl’s legacy.
Herb loved our “horrible” city & I am incredibly disappointed the RNC approved this. I am glad action has been taken to rectify what I hope was just a bad oversight, not an attempt to erase Herb’s legacy. https://t.co/2eIMWv7uUJ
— Rep. Gwen Moore (@RepGwenMoore) July 13, 2024
Kohl died in December 2023, but was able to see his team win the NBA championship for the time in 2021 after a 50-year drought.
The last time we talked with former Sen. Herb Kohl was in the summer of 2021 just as the Milwaukee Bucks championship parade kicked off
“This is one of the big days in my life,” he said
Today the Herb Kohl Foundation announced Kohl passed away at the age of 88 pic.twitter.com/qwCd6rH7Tg
— Matt Smith (@mattsmith_news) December 27, 2023
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While not an official street sign, Herb Kohl Way was put up in his honor outside the arena.
“Herb Kohl Way was named after one of the greatest Milwaukeeans, not because of his politics but because of all he did for this great city,” said Alex Lasry, a former Bucks owner and Wisconsin US Senate candidate. “There would be no Fiserv Forum without Sen. Kohl and regardless of politics we should be honoring his legacy.”