Donald Trump returned to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, on Saturday at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza for a rally, just two days before the Democratic National Convention when his rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, is expected to accept the Democratic presidential nomination.
In his usual rhetoric and bigotry — from accusing Harris of being a communist to calling her a liar (“she’s just woke and lying”) to claiming she’s “flooding our country with millions and millions of low-wage immigrants” who he baselessly claims are mostly prisoners, patients in mental institutions, and terrorists — Trump has also complained about having to spend money to fight Biden, but now his strategy is in shambles with a new candidate.
“I spent $100 million,” he claimed in his first campaign against President Joe Biden. “Now I have to run against someone else. Is that fair? I think they should reimburse me for the $100 million. Who wants it?”
In the days since Biden dropped out of the race in favor of Harris, who became the presumptive nominee, Trump has struggled to combat his new opponent, retreating to attacking Biden first and foremost. At a rally Saturday, he still called Biden “crooked,” but he also went on to claim that Biden “hates” [Harris]”This was tantamount to overthrowing the president,” he added.
In his attack on Harris, he showed a video that included clips from when she previously ran for president.
He criticized her laughter, saying, “Did you hear her laugh? It's a madman's laugh… It's a madman's laugh. Did you hear it?” Then he claimed, “You know, they banned her. They banned her because she laughs. I was waiting for the laughter, because once you laugh, the election is over.”
Trump also expressed his displeasure with Harris' appearance, bringing up the issue of her cover with Time MagazineHe suggested it was a drawing. He said he believed Sophia Loren had taken the picture, and that someone else had told him Harris had the advantage of being a “very beautiful woman,” which had been met with boos and ridicule from the crowd. So he said he looked back at the story and came to the crazy conclusion: “I’m saying I’m much prettier than her… I’m a prettier person than Kamala.”
Beyond his direct attacks on Harris, Trump also claimed that “the country will die” if he is not re-elected.
It was his seventh visit to the battleground state this year, and his second to Pennsylvania since he was shot in Butler. An Emerson College/RealClear Pennsylvania poll released yesterday showed him leading Pennsylvania voters by a slim 1 percentage point, while a RealClear Pennsylvania poll a week ago showed Obama leading by a slim 1 percentage point. New York Times and Siena Polls show Trump trailing Harris by four percentage points among voters in Pennsylvania (and polls in red states are also a concern for the GOP). Trump and Harris will also face off in the state during their first debate on September 10 in Philadelphia.
