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Donald Trump to rally in Green Bay on April 2

It's the Republican former president's first visit to Wisconsin since 2022

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President Donald Trump stands on stage wearing a red MAGA hat as he speaks to supporters
President Donald Trump speaks to supporters at a rally Saturday, Oct. 17, 2020, in Janesville. Angela Major/WPR

Former President Donald Trump is coming to Wisconsin for a campaign rally on the day of the state’s presidential primary. 

Trump will appear in Green Bay on April 2, the campaign announced Tuesday. 

Trump has already won enough delegates to clinch the Republican nomination for president, making Wisconsin’s primary largely symbolic. But the visit will serve as a kickoff of the former president’s general election campaign in Wisconsin, a state that is thought to be a must-win for the nation’s next president.

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In 2020, Democratic candidate Joe Biden won Wisconsin by less than 1 percentage point.

President Biden and other members of his administration have made frequent appearances here. This month, Biden visited Milwaukee to announce new federal transportation funding. In January, he touted infrastructure investments in Superior. In August and December, he stopped in Milwaukee to promote the Inflation Reduction Act and efforts to support Black-owned businesses. First lady Jill Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris also visited Wisconsin in March.

Trump last visited the state in 2022, when he campaigned for Republican gubernatorial candidate Tim Michels in Waukesha.

Michels defeated former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch in the GOP primary, but went on to lose to Democratic Gov. Tony Evers. In that visit, Trump directed his sharpest criticism toward Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, who was facing a primary challenge after Trump said Vos did not sufficiently support Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

This month, organizers turned in signatures intended to force a recall election of Vos. But an initial review by the Wisconsin Elections Commission found they fell short of valid signatures; Vos has said the campaign was “plagued with fraud and criminality.” 

In February, the Marquette Law School Poll found Trump and Biden tied 49-49 in the state among registered voters.