RNC Notebook, Wrap-Up: Bear down in Wisconsin, Media Row and Trump merch

MILWAUKEE — Here’s a snapshot of news and activities wrapping up the week at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.

Bears stadium in Milwaukee?

Milwaukee is a Packers town through and through — if the cheeseheads worn by the Wisconsin delegation on the convention floor Thursday night is any indication.

But some visitors to the Cream City — 90 miles north of the Windy City — may have thought they took a wrong turn.

Spotted along the security perimeter fence at Wells and James Lovell streets in downtown Milwaukee was a “sidewalk closed” sign that referenced Chicago’s Museum Campus and Soldier Field — the home of the Bears.

Officials from the local convention host committee didn’t respond to a request for comment about the out-of-place signage.

But if the same interlocking metal barriers will be used in Chicago again, maybe the Museum Campus sign will come with, as McCormick Place is expected to host some activities of the Democratic National Convention next month.

Political diversity on Media Row

Media Row at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena offered an egalitarian space for both left- and right-leaning TV, radio and podcasting outlets covering the RNC.

It was notable for its small scale — quite a contrast from the high-profile skyboxes perched above the convention floor next door at the Fiserv Forum.

One of the local AM radio outlets was Chicago’s progressive voice, WCPT 820. Nearby could be seen the right-wing media outlet Newsmax. Just down the hall, you could see former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani interviewing Iranian dissident Alireza Jafarzadeh for the conservative broadcast network and video platform FrankSpeech.

Location — rather than ideology — drew his station to Milwaukee, WCPT producer Jerry Wolski said.

“This is probably our one and only RNC event we’re coming to, because it’s convenient obviously,” Wolski said.

Traces of the station’s political viewpoints were apparent, including cans of WOKE coffee from the Minocqua Brewing Co. of Wisconsin. A laptop also had an Obama sticker.

Trump merchandise serious and snarky

If you were looking for Trump-related merchandise, all you had to do was visit the Baird Center near the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee.

Items ranged from the respectful to the less-than-respectful.

In the former category were such items as an autographed Lee Greenwood guitar with the phrase GOD BLESS THE USA marching along the neck of the instrument, and a picture of a younger Trump holding a Holy Bible.

Nearby were vendors Ian Pratt of Nashville and Gregory Woodman of Portland, Oregon, who were hawking their poetry anthology “The Collected Poems of Donald J. Trump.” The poems were created from Trump tweets. The books were being sold for $45 per copy, in honor of the 45th president. If Trump is elected, the price is likely to climb to $47.

RNC attracts international press

The press corps huddled at the Baird Center to cover the convention represented a cross section of national and international media.

Among the international reporters was Yu-Chen Chung, a reporter for Taiwan’s Central News Agency.

She said she covers U.S.-Taiwan relations and was interested in what Trump had to say about Taiwan when he delivered his acceptance speech.

Mentioning that Trump recently gave an interview to Bloomberg Businessweek in which he said Taiwan should pay the U.S. for its defense, she said, “That caused discussion and, I would say, anxiety in my country, because some of us think Trump is likely to win right now.”