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    • Trump attacks Harris, avoids talking about racism and January 6
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    Trump attacks Harris, avoids talking about racism and January 6

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    WASHINGTON – Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump practiced the policy of avoidance Tuesday in Pennsylvania.

    During an 80-minute rally in Allentown, Trump did not discuss allegations of racism stemming from his Sunday rally in Madison Square Gardenbut praised Latino and Puerto Rican voters.

    Nor did he discuss at length Vice President Kamala Harris competing speech accusing him of being a threat to democracy and encouraging the January 6, 2021 insurrection.

    Instead, he continued his usual attacks on Harris and urged his supporters to get out and vote. “We’re going to win the whole deal,” Trump said.

    Trump and his allies also hit Joe Biden after he triggered a republican reaction while appearing to attack Trump supporters. The president later said he was talking about the offensive jokes at the former president’s weekend rally.

    Here are USA TODAY’s key takeaways from Trump’s campaign stops on Tuesday:

    Trump: Puerto Ricans and Latinos love me

    Without mentioning insults from a comedian about Puerto Rico During his event at Madison Square Garden, Trump lifted up the Latino community and brought prominent Latinos to the stage in Allentown to show his support for the island.

    U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, Republican of Florida, and Zoraida Buxo – the “shadow senator” who represents Puerto Rico in Congress but does not have the right to vote – congratulated Trump to the crowd.

    “I’m so proud that we’re receiving support from Latinos like never before…no one loves our Latino community and our Puerto Rican community more than I do,” Trump said. “I have done more for Puerto Rico than any president.”

    The Trump administration was heavily criticized for its response to Hurricane Maria in 2017, a storm that killed nearly 3,000 people, destroyed communities and forced some residents to flee.

    An inspector general report found that tensions within the Republican administration led to delays in the disbursement of funds approved by Congress.

    “I’ve never heard of him.”

    In an interview recorded Tuesday, Trump told Fox News host Sean Hannity that he did not know the comedian who made insulting jokes about Puerto Rico.

    In a keynote speech at Sunday’s rally in New York, comic Tony Hinchcliffe said, “I don’t know if you know this, but there’s literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. I think it’s called Puerto Rico.”

    Hinchcliffe and others also made crude jokes about Latinos, black people and women.

    When asked about Hinchcliffe during his interview with Hannity, Trump said he had “never heard of him.”

    “Someone said there was a comedian who joked about Puerto Rico or something, and I have no idea who he was, I never saw him, I never heard talk about him and I don’t want to hear about him.”

    Hannity also asked Trump if he wished the comedian “wasn’t here.” Trump responded that he wasn’t sure it was “a big deal,” but added, “I don’t want anyone to make nasty jokes or stupid jokes. He probably shouldn’t have been there.” .

    Latinos matter in Pennsylvania – and Pennsylvania is essential for Trump

    While Latino leaders denounced Trump for his “trash” remarks and other insults at the rally, the Republican nominee couldn’t have chosen a more sensitive city for the rally: Allentown, which has a large Latino population .

    Republican consultant Mike Madrid said there are 450,000 Puerto Rican voters in Pennsylvania — and about 33,500 in Allentown alone. These numbers are large enough to make a difference in Pennsylvania, a state that the Trump and Harris campaigns will likely need to win if they want to win the election.

    “The racist slurs at Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally could cost him the election,” said Madrid, author of “The Latino Century: How America’s Largest Minority Is Transforming Democracy.”

    “Waste time”

    After being called to the stage in Allentown, Rubio grabbed Joe Biden’s comments in which he appeared to call Trump supporters “trash,” drawing boos from the crowd.

    Trump joined in, calling Biden’s comments “terrible.” He compared them to Hillary Clinton’s comments calling some Trump supporters “deplorables” in 2016.

    Biden said he was only referring to the offending comedian. The White House also released a transcript late Tuesday attempting to clarify that the president was referring to Hinchcliffe’s action.

    “His demonization of Latinos is unconscionable,” the president said on X. “That’s all I wanted to say. The comments at this rally do not reflect who we are as a nation.”

    We’re not talking about January 6

    Trump took numerous jabs at Harris on Tuesday night, but he made no direct reference to her competing speech to an estimated crowd of 75,000 on The Ellipse. It’s the same location where Trump gave a speech on January 6, 2021, before a group of his supporters stormed the Capitol building in an attempt to block certification of the 2020 election.

    “He was the one who stood in this very spot almost four years ago and sent an armed mob to the United States Capitol,” Harris said. She added in her remarks that Trump, if elected president, had signaled that he planned to pardon many people. convicted of the crimes of January 6.

    In Pennsylvania, Trump did not discuss his actions on January 6, but denounced Harris allies for describing him as a Nazi and fascist.

    “Desperation,” Trump said, also blaming what he and his allies often joked was “Trump derangement syndrome.”

    Trump talks about crowd sizes and exaggerates polls

    Trump didn’t just criticize Harris’ remarks Tuesday. He also accused, without evidence, the Harris campaign of busing crowds to Washington for her speech on Tuesday.

    He also scorned Harris campaign celebrities, like Beyoncé, who joined the vice president for a rally in Texas last week.

    “She didn’t sing,” Trump joked.

    While Harris spoke to an estimated crowd of 75,000 people at The Ellipse in Washington, Trump spoke in a 10,000-capacity concert area — and there were a few chunks of empty seats along the way. as the evening progressed.

    The former president also exaggerated the 2024 election polls during the Pennsylvania rally, claiming big leads in the commonwealth and other swing states like Michigan.

    In fact, polls show dead ends instead the seven battlefield states.

    No matter, Trump told his supporters: “We will defeat Kamala Harris and the media. »

    Yet Trump has often said he will only talk about the good polls and ignore the bad ones. He has also questioned the validity of polls, telling podcaster Joe Rogan in an interview last week: “I don’t know a single person in my entire life who has ever been called by a pollster.” »

    More: Can you trust the 2024 election polls? Here’s how to reduce noise.

    Trump sets stage for cheating allegations

    At the rally, Trump also made false claims that Democrats committed voter fraud in the 2024 White House race.

    The former president claimed one county had already been “caught,” although he misrepresented what was happening. Lancaster County officials say an investigation was launched after workers flagged about 2,500 voter registration forms for potential fraud. No decision has been made.

    Trump also discussed other complaints filed in other parts of Pennsylvania. which are not proven.

    The former president has long claimed, without evidence, that voter fraud impacted the results of the 2020 White House race. He launched a legal battle after Election Day four years ago in all states across the country, but his allegations of fraud were all rejected by the courts.

    He is currently facing federal criminal charges and state-level charges in Georgia for his alleged attempts to overturn the election.

    The final days of the Trump rallies

    Trump reflected on his 2024 presidential campaign during his speech in Allentown, telling the crowd that he was currently in the final week of political rallies that have defined his political career since he announced his first presidential campaign in June 2015.

    Win or lose, Trump, 78, said this was his last campaign. He spoke longingly about how staffers will be working for other campaigns four years from now, and how much he will miss the raucous rallies that helped define his three presidential campaigns.

    It has been “a special journey for all of us,” Trump said.

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