Donald Trump, Jr. rallies for Republican candidates.
President’s son speaks in Hershey
Harrisburg Bureau
HERSHEY, Pa. — Republicans in Pennsylvania need to vote for their party’s candidates because — even though it might be informally — “Donald Trump is on the ticket this November,” his eldest son said Friday night at a state GOP gathering.
In a 20-minute speech that was part a love letter to the state’s Republicans who helped hand Mr. Trump his unexpected 2016 election victory and at times an attack on Democrats, Donald Trump Jr. encouraged party stalwarts to support the GOP candidates for governor, Congress and state races.
“Each one of you, call your friends, get them out, talk to them about it. The only weakness that I see we could possibly have is that our side — we’re fat and happy” from winning, Mr. Trump Jr. said at the state Republican Party’s fall dinner. “You’ve got to recognize it: It can go away tomorrow.”
Intentionally or not, his warnings against complacency shared similarities with those of former President Barack Obama, who in Philadelphia a few hours earlier implored Democrats to vote in the same races.
Their visits came on the heels of several independent polls that have given Democrats comfortable leads in some key Pennsylvania races, including those for governor and U.S. Senate.
But one of those polls, released late last month by Franklin & Marshall College, also found that a significant portion of voters, particularly Republicans and independents, remained undecided in those same match-ups.
Republicans hope they can sway those voters as they attempt to maintain their grip on Congress and both chambers in the state Legislature. Democrats want to increase their numbers to take control — or poise themselves for such a victory in the 2020 elections.
Mr. Trump Jr., who attended the Hill School in Pottstown, tailored his speech for the Pennsylvania crowd, crediting the state with teaching him what “Rust Belt America was like.” He spoke of hunting and fly fishing and pointed out a gunsmith, calling him “the most important man in this room.”
He spoke of the economy, North Korea and of Democrats’ discussions about impeaching his father.
“I don’t know what their platform is: I say it’s hate and B.S., but that’s not really a platform,” he said of the Democrats. He received a standing ovation at the gathering, held this year in a ballroom at the Hershey Lodge.
Democrats used the occasion as a chance to motivate their voters. In an email before Mr. Trump Jr. spoke, Nancy Patton Mills, chairwoman of the state Democratic Party, wrote: “Tonight, I hope you look at the two men on stage in Pennsylvania and are reminded why we must do everything in our power to take our nation back Nov. 6.”