Five Months After Celebrating the Economy in Wisconsin, Trump Returns to a Different Place

Five months ago, President Trump fired up thousands of fans at a campaign rally in Milwaukee with a boastful question for a state he barely won in 2016: “How are your 401(k)’s doing?” he bellowed.

“In Wisconsin, the unemployment rate has reached its lowest level in history,” the president told the crowd, betraying his confidence that he would win the state again in November. “How’s that for a sound bite? How do you beat that sound bite, right?”

On Thursday, Mr. Trump returned to a state whose economy has been ravaged by the coronavirus shutdown, with an unemployment rate that has soared to just above 14 percent from below 4 percent. Appearing at a shipyard on Lake Michigan that builds ships for the Navy, he sought to recapture some of his past optimism.

“With the help of everyone here today, this shipyard will continue to prosper,” the president told workers at Fincantieri Marinette Marine in Marinette. “This state will continue to thrive. And this nation that we love will climb to new heights of glory and to greatness.”