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Robert Costa
National political reporter covering the White House, Congress and Campaigns
Felicia Sonmez
National Journalist in the Washington Post Political Press Team
ERIE, Pa. – President Trump rallied his supporters in northwestern Pennsylvania on Wednesday night by proudly checking a checklist on how he sees his record, despite the passage of Hurricane Michael in several states.
Trump's decision to visit the state industrial zone he won in the 2016 elections underscored his desire – and the growing need for the GOP – to energize party voters in the key states of the country. battlefield a few weeks away from the mid-term elections.
But the hurricane hovered at first. Addressing a crowd of supporters at the Erie Insurance Arena, Trump began by offering "our thoughts and prayers to our entire nation" to people on the passing of the hurricane and announced that He would be going "very, very soon" to Florida, hit hard by the storm.
Trump promised that the government "will not spare any expense or resources to help our fellow citizens."
The policy followed quickly as Trump tackled familiar party themes as the crowd of red-bonnet supporters and t-shirts roared. Trump boasted the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh and warned that Democrats would raise taxes and "impose socialism".
"Republicans are the party of law, order and justice, and we are also the party of jobs, jobs, jobs," he said.
Trump, who won a tight victory in Pennsylvania in the 2016 presidential race, was campaigning for a group of Republicans facing daunting challenges, including governor candidate Scott Wagner and representative Lou Barletta. in the Senate.
Trump had faced questions earlier Wednesday about whether to hold the rally as Hurricane Michael, a Category 4 storm, crashed down the Gulf of Florida coast.
Upon arriving at Erie, Trump told reporters that it would be "very unfair" to cancel the campaign.
"You have thousands of people who started coming in last night," Trump said. "So we are going to do that and we have a lot of happy people."
Before the rally – the second of four this week – Trump also tweeted a photo that seems to have been taken by CNN's Jim Acosta showing participants queuing to enter the room. "Could not let those great people down," Trump says in the tweet.
On the way to Erie, White House spokeswoman Lindsay Walters told reporters that Trump was calling governors whose states had been hit by the storm.
"He has a great team on the ground in Washington, Florida and the air, he will monitor the hurricane and coordinate with local partners," said Walters, adding that Trump was planning to visit Florida early next week.
During the flight for Erie, Trump spoke on the phone with the governments of Georgia, Nathan Deal (Al) and Alabama, Kay Ivey (right), Walters said.
In his gathering remarks, Trump spoke of the apparent cultural gap that followed Kavanaugh's confirmation, which sparked new debates on gender and the #MeToo movement. He mocked the "rules" of the #MeToo movement at one point by telling the story of his past campaign in Pennsylvania.
"There is an expression, but according to the rules of me too, I am no longer allowed to use this expression. I can not do it, "said Trump, though he was not clear what he was talking about.
Trump spent long passages of his speech reliving his 2016 victory down to the last detail, lamenting the media with "false information" along the way. At one point, the crowd started chanting: "Lock it up!" When Trump's opponent in 2016, Democrat Hillary Clinton, was mentioned.
Highlighting political figures for re-election, who were powerful supporters was a priority: Trump invited the representative, Mike Kelly (R-Pa.), And his wife, Victoria, to the stage. Kelly, a former soccer player, rallied to the crowd for a few minutes and concluded by calling "go win!
In the Pennsylvania Senate race, Barletta, Trump's ally who shares the president's views on immigration and trade, struggled to get closer to Senator Robert P. Casey Jr. (D) in the polls. Casey, who is part of a family well known in state politics, has worked diligently in recent years to engage union voters and echoed many of Trump's protectionist trade positions.
Barletta also took the stage at Wednesday's protest and said Casey would "stop" Trump's agenda and "forgot Pennsylvania".
Casey's latest populist speech, coupled with the strong motivation of progressive activists against Trump and the growing discomfort of some suburban voters over the president's disposition, has made him a serious candidate. he has mobilized more funds than Barletta, a GOP congressman for four terms.
"Casey has run five times at the state level for three separate offices over the last 15 years, all of which win. It's a formidable opponent, "said G. Terry Madonna, senior and nonpartisan public affairs analyst at Franklin & Marshall College, and political analyst Michael Young. "Barletta found herself caught in a perfect storm: a confluence of hostile political winds striking her campaign tirelessly."
"I think 12 years is enough time," Barletta told a local radio station on Wednesday. "I think people gave it to him [Casey] a chance to do something. "
Barletta hoped that the confirmation of the appointment of a new Supreme Court judge would electrify Trump's basic constituents in Pennsylvania. But he was not always a staunch supporter of Kavanaugh and was trying to select Pennsylvania federal judge, Thomas Hardiman, thinking that a candidate from his country would attract more interest from voters.
"No question, Hardiman would have helped me in my race", Barletta told The Washington Post in July. "I'm disappointed."
Sonmez reported from Washington.
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