LITITZ, Pa. — Drizzle, chill and short notice didn’t stop several thousand people from participating in President Donald Trump’s campaign blitz in Pennsylvania, which is critical to his re-election chances and where polls show him behind.
Trump spoke for nearly 90 minutes at the early afternoon rally at Lancaster Airport.
He accused the media of ignoring polls that are favorable to him, saying the intent is to discourage his supporters from voting, and told them to ignore the polls. “We have the spirit and the enthusiasm, which is the most important thing,” Trump said.
He said his 2016 campaign generated the “most enthusiasm ever seen,” although “there’s more enthusiasm now, by far.”
Trump railed against Democratic nominee Joe Biden, calling him responsible for the decades-long erosion of manufacturing jobs in Pennsylvania. Biden “supported every horrible, ridiculous trade deal for more than half a century,” Trump said, referring to Biden’s decades in the U.S. Senate and eight years as vice president.
The president touted the tax cut passed by Congress with his blessing and cuts to regulations.
“In my second term we will cuts middle class taxes even more,” said Trump, who added "companies are pouring into the United States.
Trump’s central Pennsylvania rally was sandwiched between one held earlier Monday in Lehigh County and one planned for a few hours later in Blair County.
His blitz on Pennsylvania came as polls show Biden leading Trump both nationally and in Pennsylvania. As of the weekend, Biden led Trump 50.3% to 44.8% in Pennsylvania, based on the average of recent polls compiled by FiveThirtyEight — nearly the same as the beginning of the month. The average of national polls showed Biden leading 52% to 42.9%.
Pennsylvania, which Trump won by less than one percent in 2016, is considered the most likely tipping point state that will push either Trump or Biden past the 270 electoral votes needed to win the election.
Pleasing his ardent supporters in Lancaster County, Trump said polls aren’t capturing some of those who are backing him, including those who are keeping quiet about how they vote.
“A lot of you people are hidden voters,” Trump said.
Biden campaigned twice in Pennsylvania over the weekend, holding smaller, socially-distanced rallies and Bucks and Luzerne counties.
In Lancaster County, Trump mocked the size of Biden’s events and mocked him for leaving the campaign trail for several days to prepare for last week’s debate.
Monday’s Pennsylvania rallies also came as the state faces its second major wave of COVID-19.
Pennsylvania reported more than 2,000 new COVID-19 cases on Friday and on Saturday, with the 2,219 cases reported Friday marking the most ever reported in one day in the state. The previous high of 1,989 came on April 9.
About 1,100 people in Pennsylvania were hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Sunday, more than double the amount in late September, according to Pennsylvania’s COVID-19 tracking dashboard. As of Monday, 8,673 have died in Pennsylvania. Most are over 65.
In a statement on Monday, Biden criticized Trump’s handling of the pandemic, saying it has cost lives and damaged Pennsylvania’s economy.
“While working families in Pennsylvania continue to struggle, President Trump has given tax breaks to big corporations that ship jobs overseas and started a reckless tariff war with China that has cost Pennsylvania jobs,” Biden said in the statement. “Working families in Lehigh, Lancaster, and Blair Counties deserve a president who will fight every day for their families, their health care, and their jobs,” he said.
Biden said, if elected, “I’m going to shut down the virus and safely open up the economy.”
Discussing the pandemic, Trump pledged a vaccine would be available before the end of the year, even as health officials have doubted a vaccine will be widely available until well into 2021. Trump also touted his own recovery.
“Look, I got it and I’m here," he said to cheers. Trump noted first lady Melania Trump as well as his youngest son, Barron, also tested positive.
“I took Regeneron and the next morning I felt like Superman,” he said. Trump noted he had 12 doctors treating him, but said jokingly, “When you’re president, you have a lot of doctors.”
Sue Beaver of Lancaster County said she wasn’t worried about catching COVID-19 at the rally, which was outdoors, but where people sat and stood shoulder-to-shoulder and most wore no mask. She took her seat about three hours before the start of the rally.
“I’m not afraid of COVID. It’s a bad case of the flu … You have to live. You can’t stay in your basement,” the 60-year-old said.
Beaver said she came to the rally because “I’ve never seen him. I can’t wait.”
She said she was apprehensive in 2016 when she voted for Trump after originally supporting Ted Cruz. But Trump has fulfilled all her hopes. “He’s not a politician,” she said.
Larry Bruge of New Jersey drove nearly three hours to attend the rally.
The 57-year-old said he didn’t fear catching COVID-19 at the rally. He likened the threat of COVID-19 to walking around naked, saying it might make people uncomfortable, but wouldn’t harm them.
Bruge said he jumped at the opportunity to “show support” for Trump, who hasn’t focused on non-battleground states such as New Jersey.
Asked whether the race is tight and Trump needs to make up ground, he said, “I think it’s slightly for Trump. I don’t think they’re polling the right people.”
Gary Eberly of Berks County said his purpose was “to show support for our president and (share) camaraderie with like-minded people. Everyone is courteous here. There are no thugs, no rioters.”
Asked about Trump’s chances of winning, the 62-year-old pointed to polls from 2016, which he said “were grossly wrong for the silent majority.”
He said Trump is in a tough position, although he attributed that to incomplete reporting and “spin by the news media.”
He said Trump’s criticism of the media is “just echoing what I’ve felt for many years.”
Trump hammered at Biden statements regarding fracking, saying “he will eradicate your energy (industry) and send Pennsylvania into a crippling depression,” and that during the debate, Biden “confirmed his plan to abolish the entire U.S. oil industry.”
Biden, while having to clarify his remarks on several occasions, has said he has no plans to ban fracking and doubts it’s even possible. Rather, he has cited goals of eliminating power plant emissions in 15-30 years, eliminating subsidies for gas and coal, and banning “only new oil and gas permits, fracking included, on federal land.”
Most fracking in Pennsylvania takes place on private land. Biden calls for a “transition” away from fossil fuels and toward clean energy, which he says will be a major source of well-paying jobs.
U.S. Rep. Lloyd Smucker, R-Lancaster County, was among the local Republican officials who spoke in advance of Trump. He told the audience not to pay attention to the polls and the media, but to focus on Republicans' recent progress in closing their voter registration disadvantage in the state.
Following a recent surge in Republican registrations, Pennsylvania’s 9,016,163 registered voters consist of 4,207,190 Democrats, 3,506,337 Republicans and 1,302,636 others, according to the Pennsylvania Capital-Star.
While Trump credited himself with delivering the biggest tax cut ever, he accused Biden of planning the biggest tax increase ever.
Biden proposes raising taxes on individuals earning more than $400,000 and eliminating tax loopholes. He has said those earning $400,000 or less won’t see a tax increase.
Biden also would raise the corporate tax rate to 28%, up from 21%. It was 35% before Congress, with the blessing of Trump, lowered it in 2017. He would return the top individual tax rate to 39.6%, up from 37%, which would apply to individuals earning more than about $518,000 and couples earning more than about $622,000, according to Marketwatch.
Trump criticized and sometimes mocked assorted Democratic and progressive politicians including Gov. Tom Wolf and Bernie Sanders. He sparked boos when he mentioned Biden’s running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris, D-California. “She’s more liberal than crazy Bernie. Can you imagine?,” he said.
He said Biden and Democrats want to prolong the pandemic and close down schools and businesses.
“It’s a choice between a Trump boom and a Biden lockdown,” he said of the Nov. 3 election, just eight days away.
Trump also took credit for restoring Christmas.
“The department stores didn’t like Merry Christmas. It wasn’t politically correct … They learned,” Trump said.
If Biden is elected, “the radical left will be in charge of party,” according to Trump.
“We are going to keep on winning, winning, winning,” Trump said. “We have done more than we promised.”
"crowd" - Google News
October 27, 2020 at 03:21AM
https://ift.tt/2JaT1EP
Trump’s final-stretch campaign blitz draws big crowd in central Pa. - PennLive
"crowd" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2YpUyMI
https://ift.tt/2KQD83I
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Trump’s final-stretch campaign blitz draws big crowd in central Pa. - PennLive"
Post a Comment