Former President Donald Trump spent several minutes complaining about his campaign schedule and technical difficulties at his Milwaukee rally on Friday night, wrapping up a rather unconventional rally performance just days before the election.
Shortly after taking the stage, Trump interrupted his remarks to respond to rallygoers who were chanting: “Fix the mic!” because of volume difficulties in the arena. Trump became increasingly annoyed as the rally went on, suggesting he would punish the contractors for failing to meet his needs.
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“Do you want to see me knock the hell out of people backstage?” Trump said to the crowd. “I’m seething. I’m working my ass off with this stupid mic. I don’t ask for much. The only thing I ask for is a good mic.”
“I’m blowing up my left arm, now I’m gonna blow up my right arm, and I’m blowing up my damn throat too because these stupid people,” he added.
His complaints came just hours after Trump railed against audio problems at his rally in Michigan, even going so far as to joke he would not pay the contractors.
Trump also complained about how the microphone was set up at the Milwaukee rally, claiming it was too low and forced him to lean over in order to speak.
“Did you notice I was bending over like this? And then everybody says, ‘Is there something wrong with his back?’” Trump said as he leaned over the podium. “They’re saying, ‘He’s cognitively impaired and physically impaired. There’s something wrong with him.’ All because I have guys that are stupid back there.”
Trump also raised eyebrows when he began making suggestive movements with the microphone stand, adjusting its height before opening his mouth and moving it back and forth.
The former president used the rally to give his final argument to voters in the key battleground state just four days before Election Day. Throughout the rally, Trump criticized Vice President Kamala Harris as being “grossly incompetent” and vowing to make the country “bigger, better, bolder, richer, safer and stronger than ever.”
“I will end inflation. I will stop the criminal invasion of our country, the biggest problem we have right now, and I will bring back the American dream,” Trump said.
Meanwhile, Harris held a rally just six miles away as she offered her own closing message to the swing state where she and Trump are neck-and-neck in recent polling.
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Harris concluded her remarks after 24 minutes, far shorter than Trump’s speech, as she sought to contrast herself with the former president in a plea for their support.
“I pledge to seek common ground and common sense solutions to the challenges you face. I am not looking to score political points. I am looking to make progress,” Harris said. “Unlike Donald Trump, I don’t believe that people who disagree with me are the enemy. He wants to put them in jail. I’ll give them a seat at the table. That’s what real leadership is about. That’s what strong leadership is about.”