VP Harris expected to tour 'blue collar' vision for America during Milwaukee visit
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Vice President Kamala Harris will visit Milwaukee on Tuesday, May 4. The trip was confirmed to CBS 58 by the White House Wednesday evening, April 28.
Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said Thursday, he is excited for Vice President Harris' first visit to Milwaukee since she took office.
“I’m very, very pleased that the vice president is coming to Milwaukee,” Barrett said.
Barrett said the White House plan to invest heavily in infrastructure and blue collar jobs, which President Joe Biden highlighted during his national address Wednesday, could be popular in a city like Milwaukee, with an aging infrastructure and a need for workers.
"When President Biden last night talked about a blue collar plan for America, I thought he was specifically talking about us because it tied in so much to what we’re trying to do right here.”
Rep Bryan Steil, R-WI, said he hopes Harris tells people how much money Biden’s approximately $4 trillion plan will cost taxpayers.
"We saw a big government spending plan that’s ultimately going to be paid for by everyone here in the state of Wisconsin, whether or not it’s your tax rate going up, and ultimately that’s going to impact a lot more people than the Democrats are willing to admit,” Steil said.
UW-Madison Political Science Professor Howard Schweber said sending Harris to Wisconsin immediately after unveiling the plan means Biden believes his blue collar America message plays well in the Badger state.
“That’s a message that for one thing is an outreach to some traditional Trump voters, and for another thing is Biden’s attempt to bring the Democratic party back to its historic routes.”
Milwaukee also fits Biden’s message about racial tension in the country.
“Milwaukee is one of the most racially divided cities in America," Schweber said. "Wisconsin is the most racially divided state, in terms of income, in America.”
Schweber said Wisconsin also has political value to the White House, and Biden could be trying to pick up a Senate seat when Sen. Ron Johnson’s term is up.