Donning “Make America Great Again” apparel, thousands of Donald Trump supporters flocked to the Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg for his first rally since an assassination attempt in Butler County.
In the two weeks since the shooting, a lot has happened. Everything from Trump choosing Sen. JD Vance of Ohio to be his running mate, to President Joe Biden dropping out of the race.
But the 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 transwomen 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 pointed baseless attacks at Democrats, alleging without evidence they cheat to win elections and encouraged his supporters to “swamp the vote.”