When Jeff Scrima was the mayor of Waukesha, he said he wasn't a member of a political party.
And when President Barack Obama or Republicans such as Gov. Scott Walker, Rep. Paul Ryan or U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson made appearances to Waukesha, he refused to attend those visits.
But now that Scrima is out of office, he is making it known on national television and in international media outlets who he is supporting in the 2016 presidential race: Donald Trump.
Scrima, who served as Waukesha's mayor from 2010 to 2014, recently appeared in a focus group with Republican political consultant and pollster Frank Luntz in Virginia.
The session, where Scrima appears to be one of the more vocal individuals in the room, was featured on CBS' Face the Nation on a recent Sunday morning.
"Trump is smart like a fox," Scrima said during the session.
Scrima, who was defeated by Shawn Reilly as Waukesha's mayor, was referring to provocative statements Trump frequently makes during rallies, including his controversial comments on banning Muslims from entering the United States.
Luntz asked the group whether they supported such a ban.
While many in the room raised their hand in support of Trump's comments, Scrima did not.
Getting attention
Scrima, who lives in the Washington, D.C. area with his fiancée, said he believes Trump's statements are primarily to get attention.
"He's in campaign mode," Scrima said to Luntz. "He has to be proactive. He's intentionally playing the media. He's saying things that are right on the edge. He's saying things that he knows the mainstream media will grab and throw gasoline on, and it goes really big."
While some in the room acknowledged Trump has made mistakes in his campaign, they said they are tired of "political correctness" and that they are looking for a "shake-up" in politics. When asked if Trump ran as an independent and the Republican nominee was U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, Scrima was among the many to put their support behind Trump.
Scrima then spoke up after Luntz said this shows "the establishment Republicans just died."
"The Republican Party has failed us the last two times with weak candidates," Scrima said of U.S. Sen. John McCain and Mitt Romney. "We are tired of weak candidates. There is no No. 2 to Trump. Who is No. 2 in the Republican field that can really win the election. Who?"
'Attracted to persona'
As Waukesha's mayor, Scrima had a motto of "shaking up the status quo." However, his approach lost him the support of a majority of the common council as well as his voting base as his term continued.
Scrima said he is drawn to Trump for a couple of reasons.
"Trump is telling (the American people) the country is in crisis, and people flock to a strong leader when they think the country is in crisis," Scrima said.
After Scrima made that comment, Luntz replied to Scrima, "not people, you. You flock to Trump."
Scrima replied, "I'm attracted to his persona, because of what's happening in the world. He gives the image that he's not going to put up with any crap."
Scrima on Obama
During the session, Luntz also asked the group to describe Obama with a word or phrase. Scrima used the phrase "jellyfish-marshmallow" without offering an explanation.
Scrima created quite the stir and backlash toward the end of his one term as Waukesha mayor when he did not attend Obama's visit to Waukesha.
Obama toured and spoke at General Electric's Power and Water facility in January 2014. Many local and state politicians from both political parties welcomed the president to Waukesha.
But Scrima said "the office of a local mayor ought to be nonpartisan for all people in the community." He then went on to call both Obama and Walker "political extremists."
Alderman Terry Thieme, who was serving as Waukesha's common council president at the time, was disappointed Scrima chose not to attend but was happy to be the city's representative at the event.
Following his appearance in the focus group, Scrima was interviewed for a story by Katty Kay of the BBC World News on his support for Trump.
Scrima did not respond to a request from Waukesha Now for an interview.
To see a video of Luntz's focus group session on Trump, see bit.ly/ScrimaFacetheNation.