Trump, Vance try to foil DNC opening day with Pennsylvania blitz

(CN) — As the Democratic National Convention kicked off Monday in Chicago, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and his running mate JD Vance held a two-pronged media blitz in Pennsylvania, slamming the economic policies of Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris.

In his third Pennsylvania rally since surviving an assassination attempt in the state on July 13, Trump spoke at Precision Custom Components, a machinery manufacturer in York with clients in the defense industry.

During his nearly hour-long meandering speech riddled with non-sequiturs, Trump defended his presidency’s protectionist approach to the economy. Championing his role in the fall of NAFTA and the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the former president also suggested a second Trump term would see a resumed emphasis on enacting tariffs against other nations. 

“We don’t want countries coming in here, stealing our jobs, hurting our country, killing our workers, leaving with everything,” he said. “And we, as usual, end up with empty factory buildings that are falling down. We end up with nothing. We want tariffs.”

Trump also reiterated his support for fracking — a controversial technique for recovering gas and oil that has contributed significantly to Pennsylvania’s economy for decades — saying he would tell Pennsylvania workers to “drill, baby, drill” on day one of his second term. 

While Harris campaigned in support of a fracking ban in the 2020 presidential election, she has since retracted her statements ahead of the 2024 election.

However, Trump suggested during the rally that Harris’ true intentions haven’t changed.

“With a politician, they go back to their original thought,” Trump said. “There will be no fracking if she’s elected, in Pennsylvania or anywhere else.”

Expanding his scope beyond just Pennsylvania, Trump said a Harris presidency would catalyze several American doomsday scenarios, ranging from a “big league” economic depression reminiscent of the Great Depression to a national backslide that would turn the U.S. into a “deindustrialized third-world nation.”

And while personal attacks on political opponents have long been a staple for Trump, the former president upped the ante Monday by shifting his target to Harris’ father, economist Donald J. Harris.

Describing Donald Harris as a “Marxist professor” and a “whack job,” Trump attempted to turn the oft-repeated claim that he and Vance are “weird” against the Harris family by highlighting their eccentric mannerisms.

“I think we’re extremely normal people,” Trump said. “He’s weird. Did you ever see him go on the stage and go, like, crazy? Between his movement and [Kamala Harris’] laugh, there’s a lot of craziness. I’d say a step further than weird — weird is a nice word, by comparison.”

Two hours before Trump took the stage in York on Monday, Vance spoke to a North Philadelphia crowd at DiSorb Systems, a waste management product manufacturer.

While Vance echoed Trump’s sentiments on economic policy, much of his approximately 25-minute speech saw Vance serve as campaign attack dog, bashing his and Trump’s Democratic counterparts.

Vance opened his remarks by questioning Harris’ ability to manage the nation’s economy, suggesting she should have done more to impact financial policies as vice president.

“Day one was 3 1/2 years ago,” Vance said. “You should have been doing your job then, not promising to do it now.”

Shifting focus to Harris’ running mate, Vance said Walz declined a debate with him hosted by CNN for Sept. 18 — the same day Trump is scheduled to be sentenced in his New York hush money trial — suggesting both Walz and Harris were “hiding from the American people.” Neither CNN nor Walz have commented on the possibility of a September debate, and a VP debate between Vance and Walz hosted by CBS News is scheduled for Oct. 1.

Vance continued his attack on Walz by taking shots at his military service record, which has come under fire — often by Vance — after comments shared by the Harris campaign mischaracterized the Minnesota governor as having seen combat.

“Before the end of the campaign, Tim Walz is gonna be talking about how he was carrying an M16 through the jungles of Vietnam,” Vance said.

“The closest Tim Walz has ever come to combat is when he let rioters burn Minneapolis to the ground a few years ago,” Vance added, referencing the 2020 protests following the police killing of George Floyd.

Both VP candidates are veterans — Vance spent four years in the Marine Corps and Walz served 24 years in the National Guard. Neither saw combat during their service.

With 19 electoral votes up for grabs — more than any other swing state — and nearly every major poll listing the state as a toss-up, currying favor in Pennsylvania is critical for both campaigns according to David Barrett, a political science professor at Villanova University.

“Anyone around the country who wants to see the four nominees campaigning should just rent an apartment in Pennsylvania,” Barrett quipped.

Indeed, Vance emphasized the weight Pennsylvania holds ahead of Election Day when he indicated Pennsylvanians should expect a quick return.

“Pennsylvania is an incredibly important state to me and President Trump,” he said. “It is a state with a proud energy tradition, a proud manufacturing tradition. We’re going to be here a lot.”

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