Politically calculating Walker flip-flops on campaigning with Trump

MADISON — Gov. Scott Walker again publicly contradicted himself this morning, this time during an interview with Charlie Sykes where he said he would campaign in Wisconsin with President Donald Trump. Yet a New York Times story published just two days earlier said Walker “has told associates he is unlikely to campaign with the president.”

“This is why Wisconsinites have no trust left in Scott Walker,” said Democratic Party of Wisconsin Communications Director Melanie Conklin. “He changes what he says based on the room he’s in and will do or say whatever it takes to further his own personal ambitions.”

A political alliance and friendship between Trump and Walker played a significant role in Walker rushing to give away $4.5 billion to Foxconn in a bad deal for Wisconsin. (Walker uses it as an election-year gimmick when he isn’t avoiding talking about it.) And Trump has publicly bragged that if it weren’t for him, Foxconn wouldn’t have come to the U.S., let alone Wisconsin. Walker endorsed Ted Cruz in the 2016 presidential primary after dropping out himself, but quickly fell in line when Trump was the apparent nominee.

“Walker is too close to distance himself from Trump and his toxicity,” added Conklin. “He schemed with Trump to spend $4.5 billion on the largest taxpayer giveaway to a foreign corporation after telling Wisconsin for years that we did not have money for our classrooms or our crumbling infrastructure. The Foxconn deal wasn’t about Wisconsin’s future, it was about Walker’s political future.

“Walker has also stood by complicit as Trump has time and time again threatened our national security, democracy and shared values of community, compassion and justice with his erratic, angry and divisive behavior. If Walker cared about Wisconsin, he would stand up to Trump and make it clear that his hatred and division has no place in our state. But at the end of the day, Walker cares only about himself, his donors and getting re-elected — not about the rest of us.”

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.