Donald Trump is holding a rally on Saturday in northeastern Pennsylvania, targeting an area crucial for winning the battleground state. The region, home to conservative, white working-class voters near President Joe Biden’s hometown, is key to Trump’s strategy for reclaiming the White House. In both 2016 and 2020, Trump dominated in the county that includes the blue-collar city of Wilkes-Barre. This Rust Belt area, which also includes Biden’s birthplace of Scranton, gives Trump a chance to capitalize on Democratic weaknesses. The rally comes as President Biden has ended his reelection campaign, and Vice President Kamala Harris has taken the lead in launching her campaign.
As Democrats gear up for their four-day national convention starting Monday in Chicago, they prepare to officially welcome Kamala Harris as their nominee. Her selection to replace President Biden, with less than four months until the November election, has revitalized the Democratic base and presented a fresh challenge for Donald Trump.
Trump is on tap to rally Pennsylvania voters near Biden’s native Scranton and counter Harris’ surge
Trump has focused his attacks on Harris, particularly on economic issues. He links her to the Biden administration’s struggles with inflation and criticizes her proposal to combat price gouging, likening it to policies seen in communist regimes. Trump argues that a federal ban on price gouging for groceries would lead to food shortages, rationing, and widespread hunger.
“The momentum has clearly shifted dramatically toward Vice President Harris,” said Davis, who noted that Trump “mainly resorts to rambling tirades and personal attacks on Harris.”
On Sunday, Kamala Harris is set to begin a bus tour in Pittsburgh, stopping in the small northern town of Rochester. Meanwhile, Trump will visit a facility in York on Monday that produces nuclear fuel containers. His running mate, JD Vance, is expected to campaign in Philadelphia that same day.
Trump’s rally on Saturday marks his fifth appearance at the arena in Wilkes-Barre, the largest city in Luzerne County, where he secured victories in the last two elections. In contrast, Biden outperformed Trump in neighboring Lackawanna County, where he often emphasizes his working-class roots in Scranton.
Some of Biden’s long-time supporters in Scranton, a former industrial city of 76,000, were disappointed by the pressure from party leaders urging the president to step aside.
Diane Munley, 63, says she made dozens of calls to Congress members in support of Biden. Though initially disappointed, she has since come to accept Biden’s decision and is now a strong supporter of Kamala Harris.
“I can’t deny the excitement surrounding this ticket right now. I’m completely on board,” Munley said. “That energy just wasn’t there with Joe, but I couldn’t see it before because I was so attached to him.”
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She added that in her network of a few hundred people, mostly Democrats and independents, everyone is fully backing Harris and Walz.
“We are all-in for Kamala Harris,” Munley emphasized. “100%, no question.”
