Vice President Pence Spreads Message of 'Law And Order' During Visit To Greensburg
GREENSBURG (KDKA) -- Vice President Mike Pence rolled into Westmoreland County Thursday for a noontime "Cops For Trump" rally in Greensburg.
A crowd of about 300 Trump-Pence supporters came out for the event.
"It's great to be back in the Keystone State to stand with Cops for Trump," Vice President Pence said.
The majority of those attending were not wearing face masks, but the campaign did try to pass some out.
The vice president's speech turned out to be an old-fashioned rally-the-troops' address.
"I wanna tell ya," he said to the crowd, "I'm here for one reason and one reason only, and that is Pennsylvania and America need four more years of President Donald Trump."
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While Vice President Pence's addressed other issues like the pre-pandemic American economy and COVID-19, the address touched almost exclusively on law and order issues.
"Law enforcement isn't the problem; law enforcement is the solution," he said. "No one hates bad cops more than good cops. Now there's no excuse for what happened to George Floyd and justice will be served. But there's also no excuse for the rioting, looting and arson that took place in the days that have followed."
If the speech, which was roughly 30 minutes long, was intended to fire up Trump's base. It seemed to have the desired effect.
"We gotta get the country on track again. It sort of slacked off again, but it's headed in the right direction," John Abbott, of Long Branch, Pennsylvania, said.
"The media is so negative," Harry Hollsopple, of Scottdale, said. "We needed something positive going, and this was something I needed to get fired up."
"It was an honor, an incredible honor. I love how realistic he is," Vandergrift Police Officer Mike Carricato said.
However, others saw the event differently.
In response to the vice president's visit, dozens of people attended an opposing Black Lives Matter rally, also in Greensburg.
Organizers intended it to coincide with Vice President Pence's event.
WATCH: Black Lives Matter Rally --
The crowd gathered at the amphitheater at Saint Clair Park to deliver what they say is a message of equality, justice and tolerance.
"Because it's not about them, it's about the message of supporting this community, of communities coming together. Black Lives Matter, we're members of this community. We matter," Lorence King, a member of Voice of Westmoreland and the rally organizer, said.
The rally remained peaceful, which is what organizers say they wanted.
As for problems or issues at Vice President Pence's event, one young man was removed from the rally for reasons unknown.
