US Elections 2024 | Inside Trump’s rally
“Trump, Trump, Trump, Trump”The coordinated shout of the candidate’s name, accompanied by thousands of people raising their fists, is one of the favorite songs of the Republican candidate’s followers who gathered A central sports hall in the city of Reading, PennsylvaniaThe excitement is comparable only when there is a speaker The name of Kamala Harris or Joe Biden, joy started unanimouslyAnd, above all, when the great slogan of these elections has been launched, which was born out of Trump’s reaction when a bullet passed near his ear in the attempt to assassinate Butler: “fight fight Fight“(“fight fight Fight”).
Both Trump and Harris have expanded as much as possible on the eve of Election Day with multiple events throughout the day, though both have crossed paths in Reading, the heart of Pennsylvania’s Latino community. Here, According to the 2020 census, 69% of the 95,112 residents are Latino.Thereby making it an important venue for attempting to attract the last votes of a significant section of the electorate to secure victory in the decisive state.
However, The number of Latinos who had been lining up for hours before the rally started was not very large, although some were very noisy.: A handful of Puerto Ricans, wearing the red hats worn by many Republican supporters and waving a large flag consisting of Puerto Rican flags tied together that read “Trump 2024”, from the first moment Raised slogans for the candidate. with them, About twenty Asian Americans also showed their supportWaving flags of Japan, South Korea and the United States.
Some Reading residents greet each other and many attendees comment on politics. “Whatever the FBI does to black people, they already call us racist,” a woman complains, while a group of youths chant against the federal government. Once the doors open, in any case, the line moves fast and in less than an hour, after passing through security checks, the public is ready at the venue. Music doesn’t stop at full volume, preferring rock songsFrom Led Zeppelin or AC/DC to Guns N’ Roses, although the group with the most songs on the list is an American classic: The Beach Boys. The wait is long and many people entertain themselves by dancing.
make people angry
The rally begins at noon with a prayer, flag salute and the national anthem, at which time all spectators stand with their right hands over their hearts. still There are a few hours until the big star is revealed, but in the meantime, the speakers follow each other on stage: Several Republican representatives, two senators, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Dave McCormick, the Republican candidate for the Senate seat who finished the first round.
Recurring themes are: increase of inflationFor which they blame the Biden-Harris tandem; illegal immigration and promised to tighten border controls; Rules that prevent exploitation of Pennsylvania’s abundant shale gas frackingAnd, of course, Allegations against Kamala Harris and Joe BidenWhen the current President and his Vice President are mentioned, screams are often heard from the seats: “terrorist”,
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In any case, the best thing to do is to provoke the public by promising a big election victory, as Pennsylvania House of Representatives member Glenn Thompson does, causing attendees to scream An expanded version of that new slogan: “fight fight Fight. Vote, vote, vote. win, win, win, (“Fight, fight, fight. Vote, vote, vote. Win, win, win.”) The speaker also repeats in a more subdued tone The motto that appeared in the former president’s election ads: “Kamala broke it, Trump will fix it, (“Kamala broke it, Trump will fix it.”)
After the break – which many take advantage of to have something to eat – a new round opens Marco Rubio, senator from Florida and one of the main Republican assets attracting the Latino voteHe was one of the speakers at the rally in Allentown, a Pennsylvania city with large numbers of Hispanics, a week after Trump tried to ingratiate himself with the Puerto Rican community after being angered by a joke made by a comedian at a previous event. , who called Puerto Rico a “floating garbage island.” Trump then said, “Nobody loves the people of Puerto Rico more than me.”
Low Latino community presence
puerto rican community This is very relevant among Latinos, because they all have the right to vote if they live in any state of the union. There are more than 470,000 in Pennsylvania, more than 40% Hispanic, and about 30,000 in Reading.According to official figures. However, none of the speakers – not even Trump himself, when his turn comes – pointed to the controversy, which appears to be eroding support from part of the Latino community.
Except for a brief greeting from Congressman Dan Meuser – “Thank you very much, my friends” –, Rubio is the only person who addresses the audience in Spanish, although he asks permission first.: “I’m going to say a few words in Spanish to the Latinos. They speak English, but I prefer to do it this way because then the media misinterprets my words,” he slipped. Like every mention in the press, the public responds with praise.,
However, when Rubio encourages “Dominicans and Puerto Ricans” to come forward, not many hands are raised; In any case, much lower than expected, given the number of Latinos living in Reading.“Legal immigration is positive for the country,” the senator says, “but what is happening now is a lack of control and complete lawlessness that is putting our communities at risk.”
After Rubio, it’s the turn of Arkansas Governor, Sarah Huckabee and one of Trump’s sons, Eric, until, Finally, more than three hours after the event began, Donald Trump himself appeared with the aura of a showbiz star.On his way to the lecture, he stops several times to greet attendees, encouraging them to do as little as possible while trying to record and photograph the Republican leader with their cell phones.
surging emotions
This is the highest point of the day, although the Granada Arena – the Spanish bank sponsors the sports venue – The filling is not finished: the back and a good part of the sides in front of the lectern are empty, while the rest of the areas have empty seatsThe pavilion has a capacity of over 7,000 people, but attendance is expected to be around 4,500 people. That’s no small thing, given that it happens during work hours, but it doesn’t approach the massive sellouts of the 2016 campaign, when Trump sold out crowds wherever he went.
Well, the people who have gone are excited about the candidate. It appears that Trump is not following any set script, He gets carried away in his terminology, although he repeats key ideas already advanced: inflation, border controls, the inevitable victory that will return him to the White House.The public enjoys and laughs at his jokes, good jokes – “She copies everything I do, even Saturday Night Live,” about his rival’s appearance on the famous NBC show this Saturday. Says Trump – and those less fortunate – “I didn’t understand half of what Marco said.”
Former President and Republican candidate for the White House Donald Trump before speaking at the reading AFP
However, the most emotional moment is when Trump brings on stage Patty Morin, whose daughter was raped and murdered by an illegal Salvadoran immigrant last AugustOn the verge of tears, the mother recalls Rachel, a mother of two, and emphasizes the need to control the border: “We are not against immigration, but against illegal immigration.”
Trump brings his family and Dave McCormick on stage again, and predicts an undisputed victory this Tuesday. He says to the roar of his followers, “I’ve been waiting for this for four years! And so have you!”Confident that this time, Pennsylvania will turn red to get him back to the White House.
Crossroads in Pennsylvania
While Trump held his rally in Reading, Kamala Harris was in Allentown, just 60 kilometers awayAnother city where the Latino community makes up more than half the population. Moreover, his work was clearly oriented hispanicsSince he has also been accompanied by two Puerto Rican rappers, Fat Joe and Frankie Negron.
Vice President and Democratic nominee, Kamala Harris, at a Puerto Rican food establishment in Reading AFP
The Democratic surprise was that, immediately after Trump’s rally, Harris has made an unannounced appearance at the readingA brief visit to a Puerto Rican food establishment, the Old San Juan Café, with Pennsylvania Governor John Shapiro and New York Democratic Representative Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, of Puerto Rican descent, according to Reuters.
After meeting in Reading, both candidates headed to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania’s second-most populous city, although Trump extended the day with a final event in Grand Rapids in the state of Michigan.