Donald Trump Jr. Makes Campaign Stop in Centre County

Several hundred people gathered Tuesday afternoon in Benner Township to hear Donald Trump Jr. rally support for his father’s re-election campaign.

The president’s eldest child spoke for just over 30 minutes to an enthusiastic crowd at Fullington Trailways on Alexander Drive, about a half mile from University Park Airport.

‘It’s this kind of enthusiasm that makes me understand what’s actually going on,’ Trump said. ‘This is 2016 on steroids. The signage, the people, the enthusiasm, the young people coming out, the women coming out, all of the people who have benefited from Donald Trump’s policies.’

Trump’s remarks were light on policy vision for the next four years, but rather were most often focused on attacking his father’s Democratic challenger, former Vice President Joe Biden, along with his running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris, the media and tech companies.

He called the Democratic party ‘a lost cause,’ questioned Biden’s record on trade and race relations and claimed the mainstream media was openly campaigning for Biden. He reserved several minutes for criticism of Biden’s son Hunter and his foreign business dealings, as well as social media companies for limiting the reach of the New York Post’s report last week on his connections to Ukraine and China.

Several hundred people attended Donald Trump Jr.’s rally for his father’s re-election campaign on Oct. 20, 2020 at Fullington Trailways in Benner Township. Photo by Geoff Rushton | StateCollege.com

Trump Jr. interspersed those jabs with his father’s achievements, including the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, signing the First Step Act to ease mandatory minimum prison sentences, the creation of opportunity zones as part of the 2017 tax cuts and the diplomatic agreement between Israel and Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.

He touted the pre-pandemic economy and formerly low unemployment numbers for minority groups during his father’s term, as well.

The pandemic was only mentioned once, in a dig at congressional Democrats for including $25 million in assistance to the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts as part of the CARES Act — though President Trump said in March he had no problem with the inclusion.

Tuesday’s event was held outdoors and masks did not appear to be required, though some attendees did wear them.

It was one of two stops on the day in Pennsylvania for Trump Jr., who was scheduled to speak in Hollidaysburg later in the evening, and the latest in a series of visits to the key swing state by the president, Vice President Mike Pence and their surrogates.

President Trump was scheduled to be in Erie on Tuesday night, his second visit to Pennsylvania in the past week, while Pence stopped in Reading and York County over the past three days.

State Rep. Stephanie Borowicz, R-McElhattan, speaks to attendees prior to Donald Trump Jr.’s rally for his father’s re-election campaign on Oct. 20, 2020 at Fullington Trailways in Benner Township. Photo by Geoff Rushton | StateCollege.com

Trump Jr. called Centre County a ‘swing county.’ Hillary Clinton won the county by about 2% in 2016, though in 2012 Barack Obama’s margin in the county was much smaller, edging out Mitt Romney by only 175 votes. As of Tuesday, 46,720 registered voters in Centre County are Democrats while 44,269 are Republicans. About 18% of county voters are registered to another party or have no affiliation. 

He told supporters ‘we need you in the game.’

‘Donald Trump has opened the door for people who are willing to fight to stand up for themselves, but now we’ve got to walk through it,’ Trump Jr. said. ‘Conservatives spent 50 years getting slapped in the face and turning the other cheek. And what did it get us? Absolutely nothing.’

Donald Trump Jr. speaks at a rally for his father’s re-election campaign on Oct. 20, 2020 at Fullington Trailways in Benner Township. Photo by Geoff Rushton | StateCollege.com