Hoping to clinch battleground Pennsylvania, Trump holds rally in Reading on election eve
All eyes are on the battleground Keystone State on the eve of the 2024 presidential election. On Monday, former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris held dueling rallies throughout Pennsylvania.
Trump held an afternoon Get Out The Vote rally at the Santander Arena on Penn Street in Reading, Pennsylvania. Meanwhile, the Harris campaign held multiple concerts and rally events throughout the afternoon into the evening in Allentown and Pittsburgh, and she is capping the day off in Philadelphia.
Santander Arena seats 9,000 people but at Trump's rally, CBS News Philadelphia noted there were several empty seats in the venue.
The former president's event in Berks County focused on rallying voters ahead of Election Day Tuesday. A news release about the rally from the Trump campaign highlighted the former president's stance on inflation in Pennsylvania and criticized the Biden-Harris administration's handling of its effects on families in the commonwealth.
Former President Trump has taken the stage in Reading, PA telling his supporters that if they win Pennsylvania, they win the White House.
— Josh Sanders CBS Philadelphia (@JoshSandersX) November 4, 2024
Trump is imploring his supporters to turn out the vote. @CBSPhiladelphia pic.twitter.com/WnecBHI3Rl
Experts say Pennsylvania's Latino community could determine which campaign wins those crucial 19 electoral votes and possibly the White House. The campaign's stop in Reading is important because nearly 70% of the city's population identifies as Latino.
The Trump campaign recently faced backlash from Latino voters after a comedian at a Madison Square Garden rally called Puerto Rico a "floating island of garbage."
Nevertheless, the former president shared his optimism about Election Day and winning Pennsylvania.
"If we win Pennsylvania — not me — if we win Pennsylvania, we win the whole ball of wax," Trump said.
Reading is one of many stops for the former president before he wraps up with a late-night rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan.