Wisconsin’s top Democrats took turns tying Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson to Donald Trump on Friday, calling on Johnson to withhold his support for the apparent GOP presidential nominee.
They also pushed Johnson to approve President Barack Obama’s nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court, saying blocking that vote was a sign that Johnson would rather have Trump fill the high court’s vacancy.
Their comments came a day after Republican U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan of Janesville said he was not prepared to endorse Trump, a move Johnson’s Democratic challenger, former U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold, said showed common sense. Feingold told reporters at a Madison coffee shop that Johnson’s decision to align himself with Trump was desperate.
Stay informed on the latest news
Sign up for WPR’s email newsletter.
“I believe the only thing right to do here is to not support him,” Feingold said. “There are many Republicans who are saying they won’t support Donald Trump.”
Johnson, speaking to reporters ahead of a school choice event in Milwaukee, said he would support Trump.
“I think it’s really quite good that people from a different perspective, from the business sector, the private sector (seek office)” Johnson said. “We know how to solve problems.”
Johnsons said he wanted to give Trump “a little space” to get briefed on the issues facing the next president, calling the government “a massive beast.”
Elsewhere, Democrats held press conferences in front of a traveling billboard urging Johnson to confirm the nomination of Judge Merrick Garland to the U.S. Supreme Court. Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin said the decision by Senate Republicans to block a vote on Garland’s nomination was disrespectful to the American people. She said it showed they’d rather have Trump pick the next justice.
“For Senate Republicans to trust Donald Trump with a nomination to America’s highest court is dangerous,” Baldwin said.
Johnson said he was doing his job by blocking a vote on Garland.
“It’s not necessary,” Johnson said. “We know what (Garland’s) background is. He would obviously flip the court from what was a 5-4 more conservative majority to a 5-4 ‘superlegislator’ majority.”
Earlier this week, a column on the conservative website “RedState” urged Republicans to accept Garland’s nomination, saying Trump was bound to lose in November and Hillary Clinton would nominate someone younger and more liberal. Johnson dismissed that idea as hypothetical.
Wisconsin Public Radio, © Copyright 2024, Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System and Wisconsin Educational Communications Board.
