WILKES-BARRE TWP. — For an hour and 45 minutes Saturday evening at the Mohegan Sun Arena, former President Donald Trump drove home his assessment that his Democratic opponent Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden have “broken the economy, broken our borders and they have broken the world.”
Trump, 78, amid his usual personal attacks and name-calling, even went so far to say that he was “much better looking” than Harris. He seemed incensed that Time Magazine used, as he claimed, an enhanced photo or an artist’s rendering of Harris on the cover of the magazine.
Trump appeared at the local venue for the fifth time and he again played to a near capacity crowd, despite many arriving late and many others were seen leaving early.
Trump repeated one of his campaign’s catch phrases — “too big to rig” — several times, as he urged the crowd to vote and to tell at least 10 friends to also head to the polls on Nov. 5.
When the former Republican president did talk about issues, he got the crowd to its feet.
“We’re going to give you tax cuts,” he said. “We’re going to give you additional tax cuts. We made our country wealthy. We made our country better than it’s ever been before.”
Trump said inflation “has been devastating,” and he vowed to get prices down as soon as he takes office.
“I will immediately sign an executive order directing every cabinet secretary and agency head to use every power we have to drive prices down, but we’re going to drive them down in a capitalist way, not in a communist way,” Trump said. “If we don’t win, there will be an other Great Depression.”
Trump said Harris will be easier to defeat than Biden would have been, calling the move to have Biden exit the race and insert Harris “a coup.”
“Biden hates (Harris),” Trump said. “He really does hate her.”
Trump said he believes that Pennsylvania and its 19 electoral votes will decide the 2024 race. He said he loved Pennsylvania and he favors fracking, promising to increase the state’s energy business into the billions of dollars.
Recent polls show Harris leading in Pennsylvania by a narrow margin. Harris has catapulted herself to a lead or near-lead in most of the critical swing states. The Democratic National Convention kicks off Monday in Chicago and it’s expected the team of Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to see even better polling numbers.
Several people in attendance Saturday said they were hoping to hear Trump talk more about issues and less of the negative comments and name-calling.
“Our country is going to hell,” Trump said. “Our nation is in decline. Harris is even left of radical liberal Sen. Bernie Sanders.”
Trump then showed a video on Harris regarding key issues. The video claimed Harris wants to ban fracking, confiscate guns, defund police, allow illegals to cross the border and that she favors reducing the consumption of red meat.
Trump said Harris “is weak, failed and dangerously liberal — she will bring us to World War III.”
Trump boasted that he has and will again “fix problems with phones calls.” He said Harris wants to expand the U.S. Supreme Court from nine to as many as 25.
“On Day One, we will have the largest deportation in history,” Trump said. “And we will support police always. We’re going to need them more than ever before. And we will have peace through strength.”
And Trump ended his speech by repeating his fist-pumping message after the assassination attempt in Butler on July 13, “Fight, fight, fight!”
And the crowd went wild.
Trump’s has won Luzerne County in the past two elections, but Biden beat Trump in neighboring Lackawanna County in 2020.
Also speaking at Saturday’s rally were U.S. rep. Dan Meuser, R-Dallas; State Treasurer Stacy Garrity; U.S. Senate candidate Dave McCormick, who is challenging Sen. Bob Casey,D-Scranton); Rob Bresnahan, who is challenging Rep. Matt Cartwright, D-Moosic, in the 8th Congressional District.
McCormick said the 2024 election offers voters “a choice between strength and weakness.”
McCormick, a combat veteran and Pennsylvania job creator who served in the highest levels of government, the race is “a choice between common sense policies to get our country back on track and the most dangerously liberal politician and agenda in the history of our country: Kamala Harris and Bob Casey, who votes for Harris 98% of the time.”
Trump offered support for McCormick.
“Bob Casey voted to open borders and the war on Pennsylvania energy,” Trump said. “Casey voted against your state — that’s why you need to fire Bob Casey and you have to elect a man named David McCormick for the U.S. Senate.”
Meuser began his remarks by asking the crowd if they were ready to “fight, fight, fight to help Donald Trump save America.”
That got the people to their feet loudly cheering.
Like McCormick, Meuser consistently mispronounced Kamala, while Trump got it right every time.
Meuser drove home the key issues in the election: secure borders, energy dominance, strong military and a strong economy.
“And no taxes on time!” Meuser said. “So make sure you vote.”
Former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum said the Harris-Biden-Casey team has damaged the country.
“Donald Trump created the best economy ever,” Santorum said. “He will do it again and he will restore pride in America again.”
Michael Whatley, Chair of the Republican National Committee, said the election is a matter of strength versus weakness. He said the key issues are the economy, the border and standing up for our allies.
“Each of your votes matters,” he said. “I ask that you reach out to your friends and families and get them to vote too.”