Trump says 'I love Milwaukee': Donald rejects calling city 'horrible' and claims he wanted to commute from CHICAGO for the convention

Donald Trump denied reports claiming he was initially planning to stay in Chicago during the Republican National Convention next month in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Coming off a report accusing Trump of calling Milwaukee a 'horrible city,' the former president threw tons of love towards the city and state during a rally in Racine, Wisconsin on Tuesday. 

He did say, however, that the issue of rising crime in the city needs to be addressed. 

Multiple sources told The New York Times and ABC7 in Chicago that Trump was planning to stay in Chicago. But it now appears plans changed after the campaign was questioned on the intention.

Speaking with TMJ4 News, a Milwaukee NBC affiliate, before the rally, Trump said: 'I'm staying here [in Milwaukee]. I was always planning on staying here.'

Immediately after taking stage at the Racine Festival Park with Lake Michigan as a backdrop, Trump defended himself against reports of 'horrible city' comments.

Donald Trump professed his love for Milwaukee at a rally just 30 miles south of the city after reports claimed the former president called it a 'horrible city' 

'You know I love Milwaukee,' Trump said to a crowd gathered just 30 miles south of the Wisconsin city.

'I'm the one who picked Milwaukee, you know,' he said in reference to the host city of the 2024 Convention.

'I said, 'you gotta fix the crime.' We all know that,' he continued. 

Trump reportedly said Milwaukee was a 'horrible city' during a closed-door meeting last week with Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

'In a desperate attempt to get likes, Fake News Jake Sherman—who wasn't even in the room—falsely claimed that President Trump called Milwaukee a 'horrible city.' It's a total lie,' Trump's Deputy Director of Communications Dylan Johnson wrote.

He added: 'President Trump was explicitly referring to the problems in Milwaukee, specifically violent crime and voter fraud.'

Trump's campaign says he will stay in Milwaukee the week of the convention.

It comes just days after Trump reportedly called Milwaukee a 'horrible city' during a meeting on Capitol Hill with Republican lawmakers, which caused outcry from critics.

Trump is campaigning in Racine, Wisconsin with a rally Tuesday just 45 minutes south of Milwaukee.

Donald Trump reportedly said behind closed doors in a meeting with Republican lawmakers in Washington, D.C. on Thursday, June 13 that Milwaukee, Wisconsin is a 'horrible city.' PicturedL Trump departs a meeting with GOP lawmakers

Wisconsin is a state critical to winning the 2024 presidential election. Trump won the battleground swing state in 2016 by just 0.7 percent. But the state swung blue in 2020 for President Joe Biden by a margin of 0.6 percent and helped him defeat Trump.

A high-ranking law enforcement source told ABC7 Chicago that Trump intends to stay in Chicago and commute to Milwaukee for the convention in July. Two other sources confirmed these plans.

Three people briefed on Trump's logistics for the Convention told The New York Times that he was staying 90 miles away in Chicago instead of the GOP Convention's host city of Milwaukee.

Karoline Leavitt, the national press secretary for the Trump campaign, responded to the reporting with: 'The president is planning to stay in Milwaukee for the Convention.' 

Some outcry ensued after Trump called Milwaukee a 'horrible city' during a meeting with GOP lawmakers in Washington, D.C. last Thursday. But Trump's campaign, as well as many of those in the Capitol Hill Club event with the ex-president claim the comment was taken out of context by media.

Trump spoke Tuesday, June 18 at a rally in Racine, Wisconsin – just 30 miles south of Milwaukee. Pictured: Rally goers pray ahead of Trump's arrival

Trump told Fox News: 'I love Milwaukee. I have great friends in Milwaukee,' but also before slammed the crime rate and how it conducts and oversees elections 

Republicans are gathering in Milwaukee July 15-18 for the 2024 Convention where Trump is expected to officially become the party's nominee in November.

The RNC Convention is held just days after Trump's sentencing in the Manhattan hush money trial on July 11.