In Nov. 1 Milwaukee rally, Trump offers falsehoods on economy, climate change

In his last scheduled visit to the battleground state of Wisconsin, former President Donald Trump held a rally at Milwaukee’s Fiserv Forum, the venue where he accepted the Republican presidential nomination in July.  

The Nov. 1 rally, which ran more than an hour and 40 minutes, featured repeated attacks on Vice President Kamala Harris (saying she’s "low IQ" and "a dummy") and a video supercut showing the numerous times Harris mentioned his name in her Oct. 29 speech at the Ellipse in Washington, D.C.

Trump also insulted the governor of neighboring Illinois, Democrat JB Pritzker, saying, "You’re not allowed to use the ‘fat’ word, so I will not do it, but that guy is disgusting."

Trump offered an extended riff on the venue’s "broken-down shit microphone," asking the audience whether they wanted "to see me knock the hell out of people backstage" responsible for the sound system’s failings.

He offered many false and misleading statements. 

On the economy, Trump said the announcement earlier that day that the U.S. had gained 12,000 jobs in October was "among the worst numbers ever in history." However, during recessions, the economy typically loses jobs for months on end. Trump himself experienced a massive drop in April 2020, at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Economists said the smaller-than-expected employment gain in October stemmed at least partly from hurricane impacts and a strike at Boeing Co.

Trump was more accurate when he said that the economy has lost almost 100,000 manufacturing jobs since the start of the year. The number is 93,000. However, he said today’s economic conditions are "like a depression," which is wrong. The unemployment rate is 4.1%, compared with about 25% during the Great Depression, and the economy is growing at 2.8% a year.

Trump also cast claims about climate change as alarmist. He said, "The ocean will rise in 500 years one-eighth of an inch. Who the hell cares?" This Pants on Fire claim drastically undercounts how fast the oceans are rising. NASA data shows the current rate of sea level is about 0.17 inches, or roughly one-eighth of an inch per year, not per five centuries.

At one point, Trump said, "I don’t want your money. I want your vote." But as he was giving his speech, a mass email went out from his campaign saying that a "critical" fundraising deadline was tonight and that "it would mean the world to me if you could pledge to give again."

Trump also said illegal immigrant gangs are taking over apartment complexes in Aurora, Colorado, (local officials disagree), that countries such as the Congo and Venezuela are emptying their prisons and "insane asylums" to send people to the U.S. (claims that are unsupported), that he signed the largest tax cut in the history of the country (False), that Americans will become "rich as hell" from his plan to hike tariffs on imported goods by 10% to 20% (economists almost unanimously disagree), that "we have more liquid gold under our feet than any other nation in the world … including Saudi Arabia and Russia" (the U.S. ranks ninth, behind both of the countries he mentioned), and even that he was the first Republican to win all 77 Oklahoma counties (George W. Bush, John McCain, Mitt Romney beat him to it). 

As Trump was speaking in Milwaukee, Harris was speaking in nearby West Allis, Wisconsin. She largely repeated the closing arguments she’s been making in recent appearances. Before Harris came onstage, rapper Cardi B told the crowd she hadn’t planned to vote before Harris took over the nomination from President Joe Biden. She praised Harris as "not delusional."

PolitiFact Copy Chief Matthew Crowley contributed to this report.