UPDATE: Trump thrills supporters in ‘freezing,’ wind-blown Lehigh Valley campaign rally
Jeff Brown relaxed into a collapsible camp chair, among the first in line to get in to see former President Donald Trump on Saturday in Lehigh County.
“I’m here 19 years and I’ve never seen anything like it,” he said of the several thousand supporters waiting in his hometown of Schnecksville to get through heavy security to see Trump, the presumptive 2024 Republican nominee for president.
“The fact that he’s here in Schnecksville is shocking,” said his son, Alex Brown, a Parkland High School alumnus studying business and marketing at Penn State University-Lehigh Valley.
“We just need everything to get better, like it was four years ago,” the family matriarch, Shannon Brown, said of Trump’s first term that ended with President Joe Biden’s election victory in 2020.
Trump was scheduled to speak at 7 p.m. Saturday. All morning and afternoon, the crowd of free ticket holders snaked up a muddy driveway to get into the rally, atop the fairgrounds behind Schnecksville Fire Hall and nestled along Route 309. Red “Make America Great Again” caps were everywhere, as were apparel with vulgar references. Chants broke out voicing the same sentiment. American and Trump flags flapped in stiff wind gusts up to 40 mph.
Annette Schrantz, of Schnecksville, took time while standing in line to tell a reporter why it was important for her to be there.
“Our country sucks right now,” she said, adding that other countries are laughing at the United States under Biden.
Trump’s visit comes days before he’s due Monday in a New York courtroom for jury selection in his first criminal trial, over alleged hush money payments to adult entertainment star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign. He faces four separate cases, two brought by special counsel Jack Smith, one by the Manhattan district attorney and the last by local prosecutors in Georgia, according to The New York Times.
The legal woes weren’t weighing heavily on his supporters Saturday.
“I’ve been a supporter of his since the day he said he was running,” said Barbara Shelly, of New Tripoli. “I was happy to see someone who’s not a politician running for office, especially for president.”
Asked why she was there, Nancy Kantor, of Schnecksville, raised her arm wrapped in a clear rain poncho to point to her pink, “Save America Trump 2024″ cap.
Bonnie Rollins wore a red sequined jacket with “Proud American” bedazzled across the back.
“We can’t do four more years of Biden. He’s destroying the country,” she said alongside her husband, Jarrett Rollins, also of Schnecksville.
Groceries are unaffordable, she added, as is the cost of living for everyday Americans.
Innumerable vendors loitered nearby offering Trump caps, sweatshirts and other memorabilia from stands, tents and rolling carts. Among the sellers was Brandon Murphy, originally from Cincinnati, but who drove up from western Tennessee. He said he had just been in Missouri selling Trump gear for eclipse watchers.
“It’s beautiful to see the hills,” he said of the North Whitehall Township countryside.
In addition to his court cases, Trump has the distinction of having been twice impeached as president. The first was due to his alleged pressure of Ukraine to investigate Biden during the 2020 campaign, using military aid to the country as leverage. The second came on charges he incited an insurrection in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
A polling average compiled as of Friday by RealClearPolitics showed Biden with just a 0.1-point advantage in Pennsylvania in the presumptive rematch with Trump.
Gov. Josh Shapiro, a national adviser for the re-election campaign of Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, said in a statement ahead of Saturday’s rally that Trump is coming to the battleground state “to continue pushing his extreme agenda to control women’s bodies and take away Pennsylvanians’ freedoms.”
Others unhappy with the visit included Pennsylvania veterans and members of Common Defense, which describes itself as the nation’s largest grassroots veterans organization and announced its intention to protest the visit.
“Since he first sought office in 2016, Trump has disparaged veterans and service members, and his ongoing attacks on democratic principles sparked major concerns over this attempt to overturn the 2020 election,” Common Defense said in a statement. “Pennsylvania veterans are particularly concerned and ready to combat Trump’s extreme agenda and divisive rhetoric that he spread throughout this major swing state during his previous tenure in office.”
Shapiro, a first-term Democrat, also criticized Trump for his alleged role in overturning Roe v. Wade.
“From overturning Roe v. Wade and unleashing extreme abortion bans all across the country, to trying to overturn the last election and destroy our democracy, to promising to kick 1.2 million Pennsylvanians off of their health care, Donald Trump’s record and agenda are too dangerous and extreme for Pennsylvania,” Shapiro said in his statement.
“Pennsylvanians want a president who will fight for us and protect our freedom — not the chaos and extremism Donald Trump wants to bring to our communities. President Biden has had Pennsylvania’s back — and we will work to once again reject Trump’s extremism, defend real freedom, and send President Joe Biden back to the White House this November.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to lehighvalleylive.com.
Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com.
If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
