Trump Makes Push for PA in Chester

CHESTER TOWNSHIP, Pa.—Donald Trump spoke to a capacity crowd Thursday inside the Sun Center Studios in Delaware County. Trump wasted no time taking on challenger Hillary Clinton for what he sees as the failed policies of her husband’s and President Obama’s administrations. The crowd inside the studio stage raucously showed its support for Trump as he hit on his signature talking points, including building the wall with Mexico and bringing law and order to cities across the country. The rally started off on a contentious note when, just 10 minutes after Trump took the stage, a protestor was escorted out for being overly confrontational on the studio floor. There was a definite shift in energy throughout the rally, as Trump moved from talking point to talking point; here are some of our takeaways just 46 days out from the election.

Ryan Goodwin:

From the interviews I conducted before Trump made his grand entrance, I came across a few of what I call “blind voters.” These are the people who give the republican party a bad reputation; misinformed voters breed bad politicians in this country. By no means am I calling Donald Trump a bad politician, or a politician at all. But to truly make this country great again is to have an educated mass of American citizens.

Overall, Trump seems to have strong support in Chester, as well as in Delaware County. The turn out was a lot more than expected, and even The Donald himself was in awe at the overflow of supporters that flooded the back of the stage studio.

As far as policies go, Trump was very adamant on bringing jobs back to this community. Also at the forefront of his speech was bringing education back as a cornerstone of this great country. From student loans to school vouchers, Trump told the American voters they will be proud of his efforts to make sure these policies are enacted again. Trump hit home with the crowd when he talked about bringing safety back to our borders.

Ryan Frascella (@RyanFrascella):

In talking to prospective Trump voters across the studio floor, one thing was clear—the voters in attendance were more concerned about singular issues rather than the candidate as a whole. Voters wanted to know where Trump stood on the issues, and if he was aligned with them on at least one, he earned their vote. After walking around the floor, it was abundantly clear that people are mainly concerned about the loss of jobs.

People in attendance think that Trump will bring jobs back to America and get people back to work. The interesting thing is that nobody, not even the voters, knows how Trump will implement most of his policy ideas. Many of the people I spoke to mentioned that they like the fact that Trump never wavers in his stance on issues. When asked further about that position, specifically referencing Trump’s interview with Howard Stern in regards to the Iraq War, people told me that they didn’t put much stock into Trump’s response in support of the Iraq invasion, saying, “you would’ve been called unpatriotic not to support the war in Iraq.” It never became clear to me after making my way through the crowd if people had their own opinions about what was important to them, or if they were just repeating talking points that they heard on the television.

The energy in the crowd wavered as Trump moved from point to point, with the most enthusiasm coming when Trump mentioned building the wall with Mexico, as well as when he talked about bringing jobs back from overseas. Once Trump moved on to the specifics of his economic plan, not as many people were up and cheering. They decided to wave their signs in support of Trump instead of using their voices to show their support. Likewise, when Trump mentioned how he was going to take care of African Americans and Latinos, the reception from the crowd was far from the level of excitement for building the wall. As we roll into the home stretch, we will have to see if Trump is able to seal the deal to defeat Hillary Clinton, or if his words will catch up to him, forced to fade back into the depths of Trump Tower.

John Cole (@JohnCole):

Just four days away from the much-anticipated first Presidential Debate, Donald Trump came out firing to a packed house in Delaware County. Before The Donald took the stage, those who opened up for him talked about the importance of voting Donald Trump in, as well as various other Pennsylvania Republican candidates to office. Republican candidate for State Treasurer Otto Voit talked about voting incumbent Senator Pat Toomey back to the United States Senate, resulting in very few cheers. Toomey has yet to formally endorse Donald Trump, making the divide between the two candidates very clear.

Just before Trump walked onstage, former NCAA basketball coach Bobby Knight spoke about Donald Trump’s background, and how it will help him when he enters the White House. Also worth noting, Knight said that he “didn’t respect anyone more than Joe Paterno”.

Trump hit on his usual rallying points; building the wall at the Mexican border, bringing jobs back to America and attacking Hillary Clinton’s judgment. But something specific stuck with me this time. On the campaign trail, Trump has rarely spoken about college affordability. At this rally, however, he stated that students were suffering with student loans and that it must be addressed. It’s evident that the state of Pennsylvania and the nation’s millennials are some of the most sought after voters in this election. Trump’s comments about student loan crisis just reassures the importance.

46 days until election day, four days until the debate and Donald Trump just showed the world once again why Pennsylvania may be the deciding state on November 8.