CHIPPEWA FALLS, Wis. — President Trump plans a one-day political swing to Chippewa County in northwest Wisconsin. His goal: To shore up his dismal approval ratings, now underwater 20 percentage points nationally. His following also is sagging in rural areas like Chippewa County because of upward spiraling diesel and fuel costs for farmers due to Trump’s Iran war, and lost farm export markets due to Trump’s global tariff war. Here’s what to expect in Trump’s Wisconsin visit:
> Eau Claire airport. Trump will arrive at the regional airport in Eau Claire (population 72,000). The airport has two runways. One is 5,000 feet and the other is 8,600. Both are too short for the requirements of the Boeing 747 Air Force One that Trump usually flies. He will be in a smaller plane, a Boeing 757, to land and take off.
> Motorcade. Several routes are available to the event’s host, Custer Farms, which is 10 miles north of Eau Caire in Chippewa County. Trump’s optics-conscious security usually chooses routes that are least likely to be lined with anti-Trump demonstrators.
> Custer Farms. A large dairy spread 12 miles west of Chippewa Falls (population 14,700)., the county seat. Custer Farms is operated by Kenneth D. Custer.
Custer Farms. Equidistant from Chippewa Falls and Eau Claire. Will be an indoor event, inside the dairy barn. Weather forecast: Rains perhaps drenching.
> Venue. A dairy barn has been set up with a long table facing 900 folding chairs for the event. Trump will be center stage at the long table with a cabinet retinue from Washington; Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson; WI-7 Congress member Tom Tiffany, who is running for governor; and WI-3 Congress member Derrick Van Orden.
> Audience: Carefully screened to assure security, to assure a friendly crowd, and to weed out dissidents.
> Political context. Chippewa County is solidly Republican. In 2016 Trump defeated Hillary Clinton 17,900 to 11,900. In 2020 he defeated Joe Biden 21,300 to 13,900. In 2024 he defeated Kamala Harris 23,400 to 14,700.
> Format: The White House used the misleading term “roundtable” for the event. It will not be a normal “roundtable,” in which voters would have opportunity to exchange thoughts and ideas.” Nor will it be a debate.” Trump will pontificate without any possibility for feedback or possibly inconvenient questions. Trump can be expected to invite pre-programmed praise from those at the front table.
> Seating. Trump will be seated for the entire event behind the draped front gavel. This will conceal his swollen legs, and the purple marks from excessive aspirin as a pain-reliever. There are staff concerns whether Trump has the stamina to be upright for extended periods.
> Music. Trump will enter from a “green room” behind the long table to a recording of “Take Me Home Country Roads” in which the late John Denver expresses disdain for urban life. There is irony here on Trump’s history as an urban New Yorker and in recent years as a Miami Beach billionaire.
In heart solidly Republican farm country. GOP yard signs no strangers in these parts.
