Will Donald Trump win Pennsylvania because of the missed undercurrent?

In Salena Zito's latest article, she wrote about President Trump's rally in Latrobe, PA, the home of golfing legend Arnold Palmer. In the article, she wroote about David Urban, whom she desribed as "a western Pennsylvania native, West Point graduate, and former chief of staff to the late Arlen Specter, a Republican senator who changed his party to Democrat in 2010 but lost in the Democratic primary, was a senior adviser to Trump."

Urban, she wrote, "understood the importance of the smaller counties outside of Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, explaining that there was an untapped center-right constituency in those counties that could sway the election for Trump over Hillary Clinton." Trump trusted Urban and did what Urban told him to do. That led to Trump's upset of Hillary in Pennsylvania in 2016.

Zito's article continues with her writing "The same holds true for today. In 2020, President Joe Biden was able to cut into those margins with the working class in those small counties, in part because of his years of referring to himself as 'Scranton Joe' and the familiarity he earned campaigning for downballot Democrats in local races, and also in part because of the circumstances of COVID-19. Now, though, Biden’s policies as president and his comportment are turning those voters off."

The Key to Victory?

Trump took Biden’s remark and rolled with it, dressing in an orange vest and riding in a garbage truck in Wisconsin. His ability to be nimble with the situation has earned him more votes than it cost him. The number of parents I saw either in person or posting on social media from Pennsylvania dressed in garbage bags, orange vests, or as Mcdonald’s employees, a hat tip to Trump’s decision to work at the fast-food chain two weeks ago, showed an undercurrent that has been missed.

"It may surprise some people in the Democratic Party that folks don’t particularly like to be called fascists, or Nazis, or have their family members called that," said Brad Todd, a Republican strategist, and co-author of The Great Revolt: Inside the Populist Coalition Reshaping American Politics. Todd said it may turn out that the voters who determine Pennsylvania’s outcomes will more than likely be people who work with their hands, such as "a barber or a welder or a waitress."

Karen, Angela, and Elizabeth are all working-class waitresses. One owns the small Main Street Diner in Westmoreland County, and the other two are servers. All three, just eight years ago, would have been Democrats, but today, they are all in for Trump.

2024 is dramatically different than 2020. First, Trump is much more disciplined than in 2020. In 2020, Trump didn't take Biden seriously. He overestimated his abilities while he didn't take Biden seriously enough. Next, Trump appears more relaxed than ever before. While I don't agree with Sen. Fetterman's presidential prediction, I agree with him that President Trump has a strong presence in Pennsylvania:

I'm still predicting a Trump victory in Pennsylvania but I'm also predicting a super-close finish. The economy still has people hurting. Inflation is hurting Pennsylvanians the most but the loss of hope that they'll return to living the American Dream is pushing people away from VP Harris. Bad policies make for bad politicking. That's the silent headwind that's hurting people across the nation.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tim Walz's Confederate Flag Fiasco

Image
After Minnesota's Democrats shoved the most controversial progressive legislation down Minnesotans' throats, gossip started popping up about Gov. Walz being interested in running for president . That's died off but Gov. Walz is still making headlines, this time for all the wrong reasons. First, Gov. Walz isn't the brightest bulb in the chandelier. Still, Gov. Walz is fighting against Minnesota's history. This Alpha News article quotes David Hann, the chairman of Minnesota's Republican Party, as saying " The flag the DFL has eliminated was a version of the historic flag our regiments fought under during the Civil War. Minnesota was the first state to offer troops to the Union cause in 1861 , beginning a long tradition of leading the nation in confronting injustice. The DFL quest to erase our history is repugnant and should be rejected." Gov. Walz, though, sees things differently. He's quoted as saying "Minnesota is a diverse state, it continue
Read more

What is Kamala Harris afraid of?

Image
Apparently, Kamala Harris suddenly loves debating. Let me rephrase that. Harris loves debating as long as the moderators are partisan hacks. She wants nothing to do with a debate moderated by Fox's Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum. She's afraid of Bret and Martha because a) they'll either fact-check both her and Trump or they won't fact-check either of them and b) Bret and Martha aren't afraid of asking follow-up questions. To a candidate whose answers are scripted and who isn't quick on her feet, the last thing you want is a follow-up question. Kamala fears follow-up questions like vampires hate wooden stakes, sunlight and holy water. Why has Kamala Harris avoided Fox News like the plague? The moderators/propagandists fact-checked Donald Trump aggressively but didn't fact-check Harris . Why didn't David Muir and Linsey Davis fact-check both candidates equally? Is it because Harris doesn't like fair fights? Perhaps she's just afraid of getting exp
Read more

Why is Joe Biden letting Hamas off the hook?

Image
It isn't disputable whether Joe Biden's administration is letting Hamas off the hook. That issue was settled months ago, when a spineless Joe Biden caved to activists interested in saving Hamas and thwarting the Israelis' attempt to defend themselves. Gerard Baker's op-ed highlights what's at stake for the U.S. if the terrorists are permitted to survive. In his op-ed, Baker wrote "If, under the pressure of internal Democratic politics and global public opinion, the Biden administration forces a 'cease-fire' that leaves our closest ally in the region short of victory over an enemy that seeks to destroy it, sooner or later we shall all pay the price." It's time to revisit George W. Bush's speech to a joint session of Congress on Sept. 20, 2001. It's required that we remind ourselves of one of its most important paragraphs. In talking about who committed the atrocities of 9/11, President Bush identified al-Qa'ida as "a collectio
Read more