Donning “Make America Great Again” apparel, thousands of Donald Trump supporters flocked to the Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg for his first rally in Pennsylvania since an assassination attempt in Butler County.
In the two weeks since the shooting, a lot has happened — from Trump choosing Sen. JD Vance of Ohio to be his running mate to President Joe Biden dropping out of the race.
Some U.S. congressmen and U.S. Senate candidate Dave McCormick, who attended the Butler rally, were there for Trump’s return to the Keystone State.
McCormick and Pennsylvania U.S. Reps. Glenn “GT” Thompson, Dan Meuser, Lloyd Smucker and Scott Perry all addressed the crowd before Trump took the stage.
This year’s presidential election isn’t about Republicans against Democrats, Meuser said: “It’s good versus evil.”
U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, whose district includes Butler and parts of northwestern Pennsylvania, was also in attendance but did not give remarks. Kelly was recently tapped to lead a House committee to investigate security at the Butler event.
Trump gave a shout out to Butler Memorial Hospital and the ER doctors who tended to his wounded ear after a gunman fired into the crowd. He said the doctors “saw some pretty terrible things” after the July 13 rally, at which another rallygoer was fatally shot and two others were seriously wounded.
The former president also vowed to continue outdoor rallies and specifically said he would return to Butler County.
North Hills resident and Republican National Convention delegate Mike McMullen was among those who said he believed Trump’s Pennsylvania return was important enough to make the trek to Harrisburg from Western Pennsylvania.
Though McMullen said he believes Gov. Josh Shapiro will be tapped as Kamala Harris’ vice presidential running mate, he said he isn’t worried about Shapiro’s appeal to Pennsylvania voters.
“We don't vote for VP. Show me anywhere in modern day history we vote for VP. We don't,” he said. “It’s Trump-Vance, Harris-whoever… it’s going to be Trump versus Harris, period.”
A topic brought up consistently among the crowd Wednesday was immigration.
“We’re going to deport them at a level like nobody’s ever seen,” Trump said. “We’re going to get them the hell out of our country. They’re going back to the country from which they came.”
That promise was met with enthusiastic applause.
Complaints about Biden’s immigration policies were heard from several voters, including Barbara Garrett from Gettysburg.
“We have all these people that are on the streets, Americans, and he’s (Biden) giving away free money to them,” she said.
Some spoke highly of Trump’s leadership skills.
“He just tells it like it is, and is willing to work with everybody,” said Rose Klinger of Lykens.
Some rallygoers, such as Christine Fulginiti of Woodsboro, Md., want the country to drill more.
America is one of the largest energy producers in the world, and since 2019, it has been producing more energy than it consumes, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Mayor Heath Barnes of Woodsboro, Md., wore a shirt reading “Gays for Trump.”
“President Trump was the first president ever to go into elected office with already supporting gay marriage,” he said. “He doesn’t care what you do or who you do or who you’re with or what your lifestyle is. What he cares about is that you love America.”
On several occasions Wednesday, however, Trump spoke out against trans women competing in women’s sports.
Trump’s hour-and-a-half on stage was met with acclaim from audience members.
First-time voter Anthony DePietress from Enola said the speech helped his decision in November.
“I thought it was great,” he said. “I thought he spoke very well. It opened my eyes a little bit more, especially as a teenager, not knowing too much about it, but got to know a little bit more about it. The politics and what he’s for.”
The rally was the first for Celesta Garcia of Linglestown, who said her family is worse off under Biden.
“I would say Trump and his policies were more productive for us,” she said. “We made more money, we had less taxes, groceries were more affordable, gas was more affordable.”
Trump also pointed baseless attacks at Democrats, alleging without evidence they cheat to win elections and encouraged his supporters to “swamp the vote.”
