Tom Perez knocks Donald Trump, checks in on 2020 DNC preparations in visit to Milwaukee
Democratic National Committee Chair Tom Perez visited Milwaukee Thursday to meet with major donors, check in on convention preparations and lay the groundwork for his party to reclaim the state in 2020.
Perez also weighed in on top issues, including President Donald Trump's Wednesday night rally in which spectators chanted "send her back," a reference to Democratic U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, a Somali-born U.S. citizen.
"As I watched that, I watched it with great anger but not surprise," Perez said during a news conference at Clock Shadow Creamery.
The DNC's finance committee is here for a meeting, a year ahead of the 2020 Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee.
Convention organizers say they're ahead of schedule on preparations, including fundraising. The local committee has to raise up to $70 million to fund the event, which will be held July 13 to 16, 2020.
"There's going to be employment opportunities here," Perez said. "We're working to make sure that we have a diverse array of contractors who do business with the convention committee, because it's basically a $70 million pop up organization. And that's a lot of money. And we were going to spend it consistently with our values and we're going to spend it effectively."
RELATED:5 things Milwaukeeans can expect to see in the year before the 2020 Democratic National Convention
Perez and others took some shots at Trump over dairy issues. Nearly 700 dairy farms shut down in the state last year.
During an appearance in Milwaukee Friday Trump said, "Some of the farmers are doing well. ... We're over the hump. We're doing really well."
"Wisconsin led the nation in farm bankruptcies," Perez said. "How can you be over the hump? I thought he was smoking some hemp when he said they were over the hump."
Perez said the Trump administration is failing on a series of policies from health care to trade and the economy.
"And so we'll have distractions in 2020," he said. "You've seen distractions in recent days, trying to divide our communities by race, saying things like, 'go back to where you came from.' "
Perez also criticized state and national Republicans for not taking a stand against Trump's use of a racist trope when criticizing four Democratic Congresswomen.
"The party of Lincoln is dead," Perez said. "It's been replaced by the party of Trump. The appalling silence of the Sean Duffys of the world, of the Ron Johnsons of the world, of the Mitch McConnells of the world, is something that I think history will duly note."
Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., issued a statement Thursday that called on the country to solve its problems. He did so as he released a proposal backed by a pair of Democrats called Operation Safe Return. It would use existing laws to speed asylum claims. Critics have said it could be used to spur deportations.
Johnson said: “With so many serious issues facing our country, it would be helpful for everyone to dial back the rhetoric and focus on actually solving our problems.”
Perez was asked about a warning the DNC issued Democratic presidential campaigns on the use of FaceApp. He said the party is "very concerned" about cybersecurity, adding it has been "job one" for him since he took the position.
The viral app allows users to age themselves in photos and it's taken over the internet in recent days with celebrities and regular people all posting pictures of themselves looking older.
"This is an app that is taking personal information from you," he said. "And it is an app from a company from Russia."