WATERTOWN, Wis. — As the Republican National Convention unfolds at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee this week, there’s an uncanny connection between Wisconsin politics and the slight move that thwarted an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump’s life Saturday.
Two years ago, US Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), now the embattled incumbent running for re-election, convinced an executive of the Milwaukee Bucks, Alex Lasry, to step out of the Democratic primary challenging Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.).
In an absolutely stunning move, Lasry took Baldwin’s advice and stepped out, endorsing far-left Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes.
Barnes, who once said the 2016 election was “rigged” and called Trump a “Russian spy,” went on to lose the race to Johnson in a surprise re-election for the incumbent senator.
Johnson’s victory in 2022 was the only statewide race the GOP has won since Republican Gov. Scott Walker lost re-election in 2018. Trump won the state by less than 1% in 2016 and lost it by the same razor-thin margin in 2020.
Had Lasry or any of the more moderate or prominent Democrats in the Senate primary stayed in the race, Johnson might not have won a tough re-election bid. In that case, he would not have been on the plane with Trump on the way to a rally in Green Bay, Wis., when he shared his immigration chart with Trump, who liked it so much, he took it and adapted it to bring on the road for his rallies.
Incredibly, if Trump hadn’t turned his head slightly to refer to the chart at the exact moment he did in Butler, Pa., on Saturday, the gunman’s bullet would likely have killed him instead of grazing his ear.
Trump credited the chart given to him by Johnson with saving his life, telling The Post in an exclusive interview with Michael Goodwin: “I’m supposed to be dead.”
Johnson is known for his data-rich charts both on the Hill and in his home state. The chart he shared with Trump that day was one he’s been developing since 2014, Johnson’s office told The Post. The former president liked it so much, he had the senator send it over to Trump adviser Jason Miller.
Johnson’s chart shows monthly totals of border encounters by border patrols and ports of entry in the Southwest. It shows encounters spiking after President Biden announced a deportation pause in January 2021 after he took office.
Trump, who slightly modified the chart, used it at a Michigan rally the very same day, April 2, 2024, sources told The Post. And the rest is history.
The senator’s office confirmed that Johnson and Trump spoke briefly on the phone a few days ago, after the assassination attempt.
A Wisconsin politico made the connection on Twitter when the news came out about the chart that Trump turned his head to look at at the moment the shooter fired, noting that the visual aid was based on the one Johnson shared with him on the plane.
After dropping out of his Senate bid, Lasry returned to serve as executive of the Milwaukee Bucks, the NBA team that plays in the Fiserv Forum in what’s known as the Deer District. That same venue is also hosting the RNC convention this week, where Trump will give his acceptance speech for the Republican Party presidential nomination Thursday night.
The RNC holding the convention in Milwaukee is further proof that Trump is determined to take back Wisconsin in 2024, and appearing in the Fiserv Forum after surviving a shooting on Saturday brings Wisconsin’s role in his political journey full circle — right down to the chart that saved his life.
