In a speech before supporters at Temple University on Saturday night in the key battleground state of Pennsylvania, former President Donald Trump claimed “few communities have suffered more under the Biden regime than Philadelphia.”
“Under crooked Joe, the city of brotherly love is being ravaged by bloodshed and crime,” he continued after referencing recent shootings and crime statistics.”
To the packed crowd at the 10,000-seat auditorium inside the Liacouras Center, he added, “Under the Trump administration, we’re going to bring law and order and safety back to our streets. We are going to bring success back to our schools. We’re going to bring prosperity back to our forgotten communities. And we are going to liberate our once great cities and make Philadelphia better and more beautiful than ever before.”
Trump also mentioned illegal immigrants and the family of Rachel Morin, a mother of five allegedly murdered last year on a Maryland hiking trail by Victor Martinez Hernandez — an illegal immigrant.
Trump further said that it was an “ultimate honor” to have been joined at the rally by “eight Gold Star family members of the fallen heroes who were killed in Biden’s disgraceful withdrawal from Afghanistan.”
To these families, he reached out to say, “They’re all looking down right now and they’re proud of you, the parents and sisters and brothers. There are a lot of them here.”
It was the Pennsylvania Senate candidate David McCormick, who Trump endorsed two months ago, in succession on stage. Referring to McCormick, Trump said, “We have a man who’s a warrior, a great military person, an incredible guy, and we have to elect him as the U.S. senator from your state.”
His rally just previous to what will be his very first debate with President Biden next Thursday in Philadelphia followed his rally in the Bronx, like New Jersey Shore and Detroit and other deeply Democratic areas.
Pennsylvania is a must-win state for both Trump in November for Biden. In 2016, Trump narrowly won the state, but in 2020, it went blue for Biden.
On Saturday, earlier in the day, Trump was rallying conservative and faith voters at the Faith & Freedom Coalition’s annual Road to Majority conference in Washington, D.C.
At the event, Trump said – in a reference to crackdowns on gatherings during the COVID-19 pandemic – “Never again will the federal government be used to target Americans of faith.”
Prior to the rally, Trump stopped by a local Philadelphia sandwich shop, Tony and Nick’s Steaks to say hello to customers and employees.
Trump left the employees a $500 tip on his sandwich, reiterating that he’ll end taxes on tips if elected, former New Jersey Senate candidate Mike Crispi said on X.
