A capacity crowd of 6,000 in Moon, Pennsylvania, waited nearly two hours at the Pittsburgh International Airport to hear Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s final words Sunday evening.
“In two days, we’re going to win the great state of Pennsylvania. We’re bringing steel back … like it used to be,” Trump told the crowd, reiterating what he promised the last time he came to the airport in June.
Trump was late to the rally due to a tight schedule. With the election near, he has been crisscrossing the country the past few days in an attempt to invigorate the “silent majority” — his name for what he considers his large pool of supporters.
Before coming to the lively western Pennsylvania hanger — where speakers tossed T-shirts to the crowd and an inflatable beach ball bounced from hand to hand — the reality television star and real estate magnate held three separate rallies, in Sioux City, Iowa, as well as Minneapolis and Sterling Heights, Michigan.
In his 25-minute speech just outside of Pittsburgh, Trump focused on industry, fear of refugees and free trade. He highlighted innovative ideas he wanted to implement while in office, such as levying a 35 percent tax on businesses that move jobs out of the United States and allowing local communities to approve of having refugees settle near them.
Trump’s focus on national security is one reason Winnie McCann, 61, from Whitehall, Pennsylvania, attended the rally and said she was supporting the Republican nominee. McCann said she is worried about the allegiance of refugees in this country.
“He has to win, or we’re going to lose our country,” McCann said.
Grant Twiss, 57, drove over 100 miles from Erie, Pennsylvania, to attend the night’s event. Twiss’ wife, Wendy, and his granddaughter, Kara, attended the rally with him.
A tax accountant and small business owner, Twiss wants Trump to “run government like a business.” He also thinks the only path for a Democratic victory is fraud.
“I’m totally convinced [Trump is] going to win,” Twiss said, placing the odds at greater than 50-50. However, he would accept a loss and thinks Trump would too.
The Real Clear Politics average has Trump up three points in Iowa, while Clinton leads by four points in Michigan and six points in Minnesota.
Currently, FiveThirtyEight gives Trump a 25.9 percent chance of winning the Keystone State and its 20 electoral votes, as compared to Clinton’s 74.1, while Real Clear Politics’ average has Trump trailing Clinton by 2.4 points in Pennsylvania.
Despite the dip in points, Trump was confident in his ability to win several states that are currently hanging in the bounds of uncertainty.
“We’re leading in Ohio, we’re leading in Iowa, we’re leading in Florida … and [the media] is saying ‘What the hell is going on?’” Trump said.
According to the Real Clear Politics average, Clinton holds a 1.8 point advantage nationally over Trump, down from a nearly 6 point advantage nationally when she campaigned at Taylor Allderdice High School in Squirrel Hill on Oct. 22.
The former Secretary of State visited Pittsburgh again last Friday, stopping at Heinz Field. She recently added a stop on Pitt’s campus, on Bigelow Boulevard in front of the Cathedral of Learning, scheduled for today at noon, before she travels to Philadelphia for her last pre-election rally.
Pundits have blamed the dip in Clinton’s ratings on the FBI’s discovery of new emails related to Clinton’s private email server, which has been a sticking point for Trump and his supporters.
A letter from FBI Director James Comey released Nov. 6, stated the bureau has “not changed its conclusions” on bringing charges against Clinton after the new batch of emails.
In his speech, Trump said the FBI “wouldn’t let her get away with it” and said he was worried that the department could not have gone through the emails thoroughly this quickly.
The FBI’s recent findings restarted controversy that the then Secretary of State mishandled confidential information, intensifying Trump’s and his supporters’ call for legal action against Clinton.
“Orange is not a great color for a lot of people, but I think it would look great on [Clinton],” said Sen. Kim Ward, of the 39th district, in her speech at the rally.
Ward, along with other local Republicans, such as 3rd District Rep. Mike Kelly and 12th District Rep. Keith Rothfus, rallied on the cry for justice as they approached the podium in a sea of “Trump-Pence” placards and red “Make America Great Again” hats before Trump’s speech.
Trump still had one remaining stop in Leesburg, Virginia, Sunday night — for a total of five planned rallies that day.
Regardless of the outcome of the election, Trump said he is still proud of the “movement” he has put together in the past months on the campaign trail.
“We have the greatest movement in the history of this country,” Trump said.
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