Former President Donald Trump’s rally in front of a packed PPL Center in Allentown on Tuesday focused on cracking down on illegal immigration and attacking Vice President Kamala Harris, marking a week away from Election Day in the presidential election. This served as the signal for his final address to voters.
At the beginning of his speech, he asked the audience, “Are you better now than you were four years ago?” President Trump sought to portray his presidency as a time of prosperity and the Biden-Harris administration as a time of hardship.
“I’m here today to bring a message of hope to all Americans,” he said. “With your vote… we will end inflation and stop criminals from invading our country. And we will restore the American Dream. Our country will be bigger, better and bolder than ever before. We will become richer, safer and stronger.”
He used inflammatory rhetoric about immigrants, saying illegal immigration had turned the United States into a “dumping ground” and calling the U.S. an “occupied country.” He also hurled personal insults at Ms. Harris, President Joe Biden, former first lady Michelle Obama and other Democrats.
The number of migrants attempting to cross the border reached a record high at the end of 2023, but border crossings have declined since then and are at their lowest since 2020, according to data from the Department of Homeland Security.
Trump took the stage at around 7:45 p.m., about 45 minutes later than originally scheduled. He vowed to “end inflation,” “stop criminals from invading our country,” and “restore the American Dream.”
Thousands gathered for Trump rally in Allentown, with some tense moments but festive atmosphere
The Allentown rally came two days after a rally at Madison Square Garden where comments by comedian Tony Hinchcliffe and others were criticized as racist and inflammatory. Hinchcliffe referred to Puerto Rico as a “floating island of trash” during filming, which led to widespread condemnation.
Allentown is more than 50% Latino, with approximately 33,000 residents of Puerto Rican descent.
Trump and the other speakers did not directly address the controversy, but the Trump campaign selected three Puerto Rican allies to speak on Trump’s behalf during the pre-show.
“We Hispanics are part of the soul of this country,” said Zoraida Buxo, a Republican shadow senator from Puerto Rico who supported Trump at the rally. “We have made a difference in the past, and we will make a difference again this election to bring much-needed change.”
Trump claimed that as president, he has “done more for Puerto Rico than any president before us.” But Trump faced criticism during his presidency for his response to Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, questioning the reported death toll of 3,000 and throwing paper towels at an audience of survivors during a visit to the island. is.
Supporters fill seats inside the PPL Center in Allentown hours before former President Donald Trump’s campaign rally on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024. (Amy Shortell/The Morning Call)
Trump’s 85-minute speech, held a week before Election Day, emphasized the importance of Pennsylvania, which has 19 electoral votes, the most of any battleground state.
“The fate of our country is in your hands,” he said. “If we win Pennsylvania, we win all the contracts.”
After unveiling some of his policy proposals, including encouraging fracking, tax credits for caregivers, and eliminating taxes on tips and Social Security benefits, Trump said he created “the greatest movement in human history.” His supporters argued that: Madison Square Garden could have been sold out “for six, seven, or even eight innings.”
He also insulted Harris, calling her “a person with a low IQ” and “unfit for public office.”
He also reiterated his vow to oversee the largest mass deportation operation in U.S. history and said he would seek the death penalty for immigrants who kill American citizens or law enforcement officers. He played a campaign video featuring comments from the mother of Jocelyn Nangaray, a 12-year-old Texas girl whose body was found in a creek not far from her home. Police have charged two Venezuelan men who entered the United States illegally with the girl’s murder.
In a memorable moment, President Trump invited Marco Rubio, who had already addressed the audience in the pre-show corner, to come back on stage during his speech. When Rubio took to the stage and said, “Just a minute ago, Joe Biden said that our supporters are garbage,” the audience booed.
“We are not trash. We are patriots who love America,” Rubio said.
Biden made the comments Tuesday on a Zoom call with the group Voto Latino. “The only garbage I see is his supporters, his hatred. His demonization of Latinos is unconscionable and un-American.”
After the remarks sparked a firestorm, Biden and the White House sought to clarify his remarks, saying Biden was referring to hateful rhetoric to trash, not Trump supporters.
The rally caused widespread road closures, disruptions to transit and public transportation, and the closure of Allentown schools for a day. Lines to get in snaked from the PPL Center to several blocks across the city, and people started lining up before dawn Tuesday. Throughout the morning and afternoon, the streets were filled with Trump supporters and lined with stalls selling Trump merchandise, flags and other memorabilia.
A counter-demonstration organized by the Allentown-based immigrant group Make the Road Action gathered in a nearby parking lot to express their anger over Trump’s visit.
Polls predict a close race in Pennsylvania, with most polls showing Donald Trump leading Kamala Harris by less than 1 percentage point. The margins in the 2016 and 2020 elections in the state were extremely close, with Trump winning Pennsylvania in 2016 by about 40,000 votes. In 2020, Biden had a lead of about 80,000 people.
The Harris-Waltz campaign held a meeting Tuesday morning at the city’s satellite election office with the mayor, City Council president, state representative and actor Martin Sheen, known for playing President Jed Barrett on the political drama show “The West Wing.” A competitive event was held in which participants participated. ” Mr. Sheen called Mr. Trump’s Sunday rally a “festival of ignorance” and said he traveled to Pennsylvania to support Ms. Harris.
Harris delivered her campaign’s closing arguments at a rally Tuesday night at the Ellipse in Washington, where Donald Trump spoke on January 6, 2021. Harris said she would “put country over party and before herself,” while attacking Trump as “unstable” and “unstable.” “I’m obsessed with revenge.”
Reporter Lindsay Weber can be reached at Liweber@mcall.com.
Donald Trump rally in Allentown, latest updates: President Trump criticizes Harris on immigration issue, ends with signature closure
First Published: October 29, 2024 9:17pm EDT
