There’s a lot more to the Republican National Convention than what happens in the Fiserv Forum. Clustered around the arena in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, are a multitude of side events sponsored by advocacy groups, corporations, and anyone else who could see a benefit from offering an open bar to convention attendees.
One such event on Tuesday afternoon was held by the American Principles Project, a socially conservative activist group, and Orange County Choppers, the people behind American Chopper, the long-running reality show about custom-made motorcycles. They came together to unveil a custom-made bike for Riley Gaines, the former Division I swimmer who has become a prominent opponent of transgender people participating in competitive women’s sports. The bike was Kentucky blue, in honor of her alma mater, and was stenciled with messages such as “Our Bodies Our Sports” and “XX ≠ XY.”
“Democrats used to be the party of feminism. Democrats used to be the party of women’s rights. Now it’s completely changed,” said Marjorie Taylor Greene as a crowd made up of MAGA acolytes in Trump hats, curious reporters, and some stray Hasidic Jews — including one clutching a book by the Lubavitcher Rebbe about his plan for Middle East peace — watched.
Terry Schilling, the firebrand head of APP, described the election as a battle between “crazy and normal” as he railed against “the gender industry,” which he argued has financial incentives to encourage youths to identify as transgender. He ended his remarks by proclaiming, “God bless America, and God save Donald Trump.”
The crowd stopped briefly to try to get selfies with Gaines and Paul Teutul, the star of American Chopper. But then they flocked inside for what mattered most at the convention: the open bar.
