Former Janesville politico weighs in on GOP convention

MILWAUKEE — Although he has been absent from Republican Party activities for years, former Janesville resident Steve King remains a keen observer of the political landscape.

He is attending this week’s Republican National Convention, but in no official capacity.

“I guess you could call me the state party chair emeritus,” King said during an interview at the Pfister Hotel where he is staying. “I have a lot of ‘formers.’”

King was the Host Committee chair of the 2016 GOP national convention. He has served as a delegate and as an RNC national committeeman. In 2017, then-president Donald Trump appointed King ambassador to the Czech Republic.

“My wife and I now live in North Carolina, but my roots are in Wisconsin,” King said. “I feel like I’m back home here at the convention.”

In addition to his political activities, King served as president and CEO of Tomah Products, a chemical company in Milton.

King said he has no problem with those considered for Republican Party presidential candidate Donald Trump’s running mate. Trump announced Monday he has chosen 39-year-old JD Vance, a freshman United States senator from Ohio.

“I was very interested to see if Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin would be considered,” King said. “I think he is an exceptional governor and a successful politician.

“He defeated a Democratic incumbent,” King said, “I think he would have delivered Virginia for us.”

Shooting security questions

King is a former FBI agent. As such, he has questions about how the Secret Service handled the Trump rally at which Trump was wounded in an assassination attempt.

“There is no way the rooftop from which the shots were fired should have been left unattended,” King said. “That rooftop should have been in the perimeter of the event and manned by law enforcement personnel.”

King said he had heard that the perimeter was not expanded due to a lack of forces.

“That’s not a valid excuse,” he said. “I would have reached out to every agency I could including local police, state patrol and national law enforcement to make sure that every rooftop from which a shot could be fired was staffed.”

King said he sees a second term for Trump.

“He has demonstrated that he can form a strong campaign and a strong group of supporters,” King said. “I cannot see any scenario in which he would not win.”