In Latrobe Pennsylvania‚ Donald Trump held a rally that took an unexpected turn. Instead of presenting his closing argument for the upcoming election‚ he kicked off with a lengthy tribute to Arnold Palmer (the towns local golf legend)
Trump spent about 12 minutes talking about Palmer‚ who was born in Latrobe almost a century ago. He even made some eyebrow-raising comments about Palmers physique‚ saying “Arnold Palmer was all man‚ and I say that in all due respect to women“. Trump went on to describe Palmers effect on other golfers in the showers – a statement that raised some eyebrows
After his Palmer-centric opening‚ Trump moved on to more familiar campaign themes. He criticized Vice President Kamala Harris‚ calling her “crazy“ and using strong language to suggest she should be fired. He also brought up Harris past stance on fracking – a topic thats important to Pennsylvanias economy
Trump didnt forget to highlight his own achievements. He boasted about creating strong tax policies and a robust military during his first term. To connect with the local crowd‚ he invited members of a steelworkers union that endorsed him on stage and donned a construction hat with his name on it
The former president also touched on international affairs mentioning a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the ongoing conflict with Hamas. Trump used this to criticize President Bidenʼs handling of the situation
Towards the end of his speech‚ Trump made an unusual comment about the increased security around him. He pointed out the number of “machine guns“ and compared the security personnel to Arnold Palmer saying‚ “They look like Arnold. Cant look better than Arnold“
Despite his campaign advisers suggestion that this rally would preview Trumps closing argument‚ the speech didnt offer much new framing of the race or reasons why he should win. Instead‚ it was a mix of local praise‚ campaign themes‚ and Trumps characteristic off-the-cuff style