Donald Trump in Wilkes-Barre says whoever wins Pennsylvania will ‘win the whole thing’

WILKES-BARRE— Former President Donald Trump ended his Saturday rally in Wilkes-Barre with a clear focus on why he has become a frequent visitor to the commonwealth that could determine the election.

“They say that if you win Pennsylvania, you’re going to win the whole thing,” Trump told a crowd of roughly 8,000 supporters at the Mohegan Arena as he was winding down a speech that was more than 90 minutes long. “We cannot let these people win Pennsylvania.”

But before he got to that final thought, Trump delivered a rambling speech — at times almost a stream of consciousness — in which he pushed debunked claims about Olympic boxers, appeared to confuse Pennsylvania with North Carolina, and went on an extended riff about Vice President Kamala Harris’ appearance.

“They said, ‘No, her biggest advantage is that she’s a beautiful woman,’” Trump said. “... I’m better looking than she is.”

Trump ripped ABC, the network that will host his first debate with Harris, and mocked the vice president’s laugh. He falsely claimed that polls have him ahead in Pennsylvania.

And he claimed that Democrats snubbed Gov. Josh Shapiro “because he’s Jewish,” a contention that Trump and his allies have made since Harris chose Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate earlier this month. Shapiro has rejected the suggestion that antisemitism had anything to do with the choice by Harris, whose husband, Doug Emhoff, is Jewish.

“Any Jewish person that votes for her or a Democrat has to go out and have their head examined,” Trump said. “If you see what’s happening with Israel and Jewish people, there has never been a more dangerous time since the Holocaust if you happen to be Jewish in America.”

The rally marked Trump’s seventh visit to the state this year and his second event in the state since he survived an assassination attempt in Butler last month. In the final moments of Trump’s speech, the crowd chanted, “Fight, fight, fight,” echoing the words Trump said after the shooting.

Trump’s rally comes as polls show Harris taking a slight lead in the state, following President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the race.

Harris will visit the state Sunday with a stop in Pittsburgh before the Democratic National Convention. Both Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, will be back in Pennsylvania on Monday as both campaigns see the election hinging on the state.

Luzerne County, where Wilkes-Barre is located, is almost evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans. Democrats carried the county in four straight elections before Trump flipped it in 2016, and won again in 2020. It’s the lone county in the state that flipped from Democratic to Republican in 2016 and stayed that way four years later.

Trump has succeeded by winning in mostly white, working class, small towns and mid-sized cities in Pennsylvania’s Northeast and Southwest regions. Luzerne County is about 80% white, according to census figures.

Most in the arena crowd came dressed out in their Make America Great Again finest. Several voters at the rally said their top concern is the cost of living in Pennsylvania.

“We’re here to support Donald Trump’s policies to make the economy better, to make things more affordable,” said Linda Gubitose, 54, of Wilkes-Barre. “I just want costs to come down.”

While inflation has begun to decline from its record highs earlier in the Biden administration, a majority of Pennsylvanians believe that they are worse off than they were a year ago, according to a Franklin and Marshall College poll released earlier this month.

Pennsylvania’s status as a battleground state likely was a primary factor in the agreement by Trump and Harris to debate next month in Philadelphia, but Trump indicated he wasn’t necessarily pleased with the arrangements and the fact that it would be broadcast on ABC, which he called “the worst network.”

“I call it ‘ABC fake news,’” said Trump, who has ongoing litigation against ABC News and anchor George Stephanopoulos. The ABC presidential debate will be held at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia on Sept. 10. “These are phony, fake disgusting people who hate our country,” he said.

Trump said at the rally that he would “accept anything because otherwise [Harris is] not going to debate.”

Trump also took the occasion to criticize Sen. Bob Casey (D., Pa.), who is running for reelection, saying he had “barely met” him and compared Casey to his father, former Pennsylvania Gov. Robert P. Casey.

“He’s cruising on his father’s past,” Trump said of the younger Casey.

Trump praised Republican Senate candidate Dave McCormick’s position on taxes and energy, among other things. Trump also took a swipe at Sen. John Fetterman (D., Pa), citing Fetterman’s poor debate performance against Trump-endorsed Mehmet Oz while he was running for the Senate in 2022. At the time, Fetterman was recovering from a stroke.

Trump said that when he endorses candidates, they win. He previously backed State Sen. Doug Mastriano, who was running for governor, and celebrity surgeon Oz, for Senate. Both lost.

Trump at one point pushed back on the idea that he rambles in speeches, defending long speeches as something his supporters expect and he appeared to confuse which state he was in.

”I walk in, speak for 15 minutes and leave… Would that be okay, North Carolina? I don’t think so, right?” Trump said.

The clip quickly gained attention online, promoted by Harris’ campaign and others.

About 15 minutes earlier in the speech, Trump had acknowledged a group of women who had traveled to his speech from North Carolina, but it wasn’t clear that the later comments were directed at this group or a flub.