Wisconsin Battles Foreshadowed Trump Lawfare

Former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker says the political warfare he endured after taking office more than a decade ago foreshadowed the investigations, legal battles and relentless opposition President Donald Trump would later face nationally.

“Almost everything President Trump’s gone through, we went through years earlier in Wisconsin, just at the state level,” Walker told the South Shore Press.

Walker said the confrontation began after his administration enacted sweeping conservative reforms, particularly changes that curtailed the power of public-sector unions and returned greater authority to local governments and taxpayers.

The reaction was immediate. Walker recalled more than 100,000 protesters descending on Wisconsin’s Capitol during demonstrations that continued for weeks.

“They were trying to intimidate us,” Walker said. “We didn’t back down.”

Then came Wisconsin’s controversial “John Doe” investigation into conservative organizations and Walker supporters. Walker compared the years-long probe to the investigations surrounding Trump.

“They did lawfare against us,” Walker said. “They did all these things, and we didn’t back down. And that’s exactly what we see with President Trump. They’ve thrown everything at him, and he doesn’t back down.”

Walker also faced an extraordinary attempt to remove him from office through Wisconsin’s recall process. In 2012, he became the first U.S. governor to survive a recall election, defeating Democrat Tom Barrett and receiving more votes than he had in his original 2010 victory.

Walker said the opposition was fueled largely by his reforms limiting collective bargaining for many government employees.

His administration went on to cut income and property taxes, expand school choice, enact voter ID, approve concealed carry and overhaul government employment rules.

“We did just about every conservative reform in the country,” Walker said.

Looking back, Walker sees a direct parallel between his Wisconsin experience and Trump’s national battles.

“They trashed us. They berated us,” Walker said. “We didn’t back down.”

Thousands packed the Wisconsin Capitol in 2011 to protest Gov. Scott Walker and spark a historic recall election.