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In a closed-door meeting with GOP members of Congress on Capitol Hill on Thursday, former President Donald Trump<\/strong> reportedly used the word \u201chorrible\u201d when talking about Milwaukee, the Wisconsin city that\u2019s hosting the Republican National Convention<\/a> next month.<\/p>\n \u201cMilwaukee, where we are having our convention, is a horrible city,\u201d Trump said, as first reported<\/a> by Punchbowl News<\/a>.<\/p>\n Whether the expected 2024 Republican presidential nominee will even be in attendance is still up in the air. Trump\u2019s summer plans got complicated after he was convicted<\/a> by a New York City jury of 34 felonies last month for falsifying documents to cover up a hush money payment to Stormy Daniels<\/strong>, a porn star, ahead of the 2016 election. Just four days before the RNC\u2019s July 15 start date, Trump is scheduled to appear for his sentencing date in the Empire State.<\/p>\n This content can also be viewed on the site it originates<\/a> from.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n While NBC News has reported<\/a> that both Mar-a-Lago and the Milwaukee convention sites are preparing for a convention Trump may not attend, his team has ensured that the candidate will visit the Midwest state in a few weeks.<\/p>\n \u201cAt no time has convention planning involved any option than President Trump in person to accept his formal nomination as president,\u201d senior adviser Brian Hughes<\/strong> told NBC.<\/p>\n In the days following Trump\u2019s meeting with Republican lawmakers, his campaign team and allies across the country have come to the former president\u2019s defense\u2014with some claiming they never heard the word \u201chorrible\u201d uttered and others saying the media has taken the comments out of context.<\/p>\n \u201cWrong. Total bullshit,\u201d Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung<\/strong> said<\/a> on X, formerly Twitter. \u201cHe never said it like how it\u2019s been falsely characterized as. He was talking about how terrible crime and voter fraud are.\u201d<\/p>\n Speaker of the House Mike Johnson<\/strong> was eager to deny the remarks, telling<\/a> Fox News\u2019 Sean Hannity<\/strong> on Thursday evening, \u201cNo, I didn\u2019t hear it, and I was sitting right next to him.\u201d What Johnson seemed unaware of, though, was that Trump himself had been on Fox News to clarify what he meant by the statements.<\/p>\n \u201cI love Milwaukee, I have great friends in Milwaukee, but it\u2019s as you know, the crime numbers are terrible. We have to be very careful. But I was referring to also the election, the the ballots, the, the way it went down, it was very bad in Milwaukee. Very, very bad,\u201d Trump told<\/a> Aishah Hasnie<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Republican Congressman Bryan Steil<\/strong> of Wisconsin also switched up his script.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nX content<\/h4>\n