Trump speaks in Pennsylvania amid push for swing states

( NewsNation ) — As the Democratic National Convention gets underway in Chicago, the Republican ticket is making a push for the key swing states, hoping to boost support among working-class voters in rural areas.

Former President Donald Trump spoke in Pennsylvania Monday, his second stop in the state in three days before he heads to Michigan.

Energy and the economy were in the spotlight during Trump’s rally in Wilkes-Barre, a former industrial powerhouse that has lost nearly half its population over the decades. His messaging hit on fracking, gas prices and inflation, issues voters on the ground say are very important to them in the upcoming election.

Trump also took the opportunity to attack his opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, over these issues.

“Your state’s going to be ruined anyway. She’s (Harris) totally anti-fracking. She’s been anti-fracking and anti-drilling, anti-oil and gas, from practically the day she was born. All of a sudden, a couple of months ago, she said, I’d love to have fracking. Now, she won’t have fracking. Vote Trump, and your incomes will soar, your savings will grow, and young people will be able to afford a home,” Trump said on Saturday.

Trump hammered Harris on the economy, associating her with rises in inflation that occurred during the Biden administration and likening her latest proposal against price gouging to measures in communist nations. Trump has said a federal ban on price gouging for groceries would lead to food shortages, rationing and hunger.

Pennsylvania has 19 electoral votes up for grabs in November, making it a critical battleground for both candidates, who are neck and neck in the state. The latest Decision Desk HQ polls show Harris just 1.5 percentage points above Trump.

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