The key to re-election? The Keystone state.
Axios reported this week that advisers to President Trump say he worries most about Pennsylvania flipping against him in 2020.
Trump was the first Republican presidential candidate to win Pennsylvania in over 2 decades and successfully flipped three blue collar PA counties.
The report also stated that Trump sees Vice President Joe Biden, native of Scranton, as the strongest Democratic candidate for 2020. Trump sees other Democratic 2020 hopefuls, such as Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren, as weak candidates and believes Biden could possibly appeal to his base of “working class whites”.
Biden, who contemplated a 2016 campaign, has made his dissatisfaction with a Trump presidency clear for the past couple of years. At a campaign rally for Sec. Clinton in Oct. 2016 in Wilkes-Barre, PA, Biden said he wishes they were in high school so “he could take him behind the gym”.
Trump has returned verbal punches at Biden saying he believes the former VP is “weak, both mentally and physically” and “would go down fast and hard, crying all the way”.
Crazy Joe Biden is trying to act like a tough guy. Actually, he is weak, both mentally and physically, and yet he threatens me, for the second time, with physical assault. He doesn’t know me, but he would go down fast and hard, crying all the way. Don’t threaten people Joe!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 22, 2018
This Axios report came out hours before President Trump confirms he will be holding a campaign rally next Thursday with Rep. Lou Barletta, who is running for U.S. Senate, in Wilkes-Barre, PA. This is the same city that Biden made his comments wishing “he could take him (Trump) behind the gym”.
In an interview with CBS Evening News recently, Trump said he “dreams about Biden” as a candidate in 2020.
Pennsylvania Republicans believe their message of “freedom and economic prosperity” will keep the state red in 2018 and 2020.
“Pennsylvania voters have long embraced the need for a robust economy and the need for government to respect their hard-earned money and that is exactly what the Republican agenda has delivered. Under the Trump administration, the economy has been growing at an unparalleled rate. Voters will not forget this at the ballot box this year or in 2020,” said PAGOP Communications Director Jason Gottesman. “Republicans also stand in stark contrast to the radical left, who support the abolishing of ICE, open borders, obstructionism, socialism, and rolling back tax cuts.”
When asked about the Axios report and the importance of the Democrats taking back Pennsylvania in 2020, Brandon Cwalina, spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Democratic Party had this to say.
“Democrats are the right choice to lead our country because Democrats are the only party fighting for access to affordable health care, a higher minimum wage, and the protection of our students, seniors, and workers. We intend to get Governor Wolf and Senator Casey reelected this year, elect Democrats up and down the ballot this year and next year, and to continue to build the groundwork for us to make Pennsylvania blue again in 2020.”
Updated with Comments from the Pennsylvania GOP.
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14 Responses
As for Biden? Trump better hope he doesn’t have to run up against Biden. Anyone the Dems put up from Biden on to slightly more right of Biden would beat Trump handily in 2020. I really don’t like Elizabeth Warren, but if Trump continues his nonsense, that may have to be. We haven’t had a one-term president in a while and we’re past due for one!
He should fear it! This is CASEY COUNTRY!!! Maybe Casey’s a little too liberal for me on economics and trade — but at least he actually cares about the people. I’d say he’s even more comprehensively pro-life. It’s a bigger challenge than just being anti-abortion (and I don’t like and think abortion is not good).
Whereas Trump and Barletta are all about stoking racial tensions and lies and violent and unacceptable political rhetoric. Not even Putin will be able to help them!
The PA Dems actually have the nerve to state this:
“Democrats are THE ONLY PARTY fighting for access to affordable health care, a higher minimum wage, and the protection of our students, seniors, and workers.”
Huh? The Green Party has been fighting for all that stuff and many more left causes and principles for their entire existence. Small wonder (but incredibly stupid strategy) that the Political Class tries so hard to pretend to not be aware of them. So let’s review the numbers for our commonwealth:
Johnson: 142,621
Trump vs Clinton PA margin: 66,299
Stein: 48,899
Write ins: 42,271
Castle: 20,914
Almost 200,000 PA votes went third party. I don’t recall exactly, but I believe that around 70,000 third party were cast in 2012.
Third parties offer PA a choice. PA paid them back by making it count, across the political spectrum.
Even as half of eligible folks did not vote. A huge reason they didn’t vote is that they did not think they could conceivably end up with any POTUS they wanted, trusted or liked. Turns out they were correct.
Fellow Dems can blame Stein, Sanders, racism or the boogey man. But my claim is proven by voter turnout. Dems don’t win dogcatcher without enthusiasm from the left of our party. Just as the GOP does not win without enthusiasm from the right of theirs.
Political Class: give us candidates we want, or we will find them.
Don’t worry people, the red Maverick will stop it from happening.
No, The Suburban Urban and the Mangonator.
[misdirection]
Let’s look at this from a cool detached perspective. Here we are out about 103 days from Nov 6 election with Scott Wagner, a highly successful business person and politician, spending millions in a primary and is down by 19 points to Gov Tom Wolf. We also have Lou Barletta down by 17 points to Sen Casey. So, where are we going from here? Trump is driving women voters to the Democratic party as this article notes. They may vote Republican but not with Trump in the picture so how can this help R’s? Scott Wagner will spend millions more and Lou will spend too but Trump takes all the political air out of the room making it hard for fellow R’s to maneuver.
PA flipping from blue in 2016 was an aberration, and was exceedingly close (about 45,000 votes or so). That was before everyone saw what a total f*ck-up Trump has been in the White House.
PA will go back to blue in 2020.
With people like you at the head of the liberal brain trust in this Commonwealth I think DJT will be just fine.
You’re so clueless, it’s actually kind of funny.
George CantStandYa-
Well, now that we are on guard against the Russian’s interfering (and DJT has proven what a loser he is in office), PA will return to Blue.
There will be nothing more satisfying than seeing the incompetent orange moron lose the presidency in 2020. Rural PA isn’t seeing any improvement with Trump as president. Wages are stagnant and the opioid crisis continues to explode. I really don’t expect they will ever be able to impeach him and remove him from office so it is up to the voters to do the job and do it right in 2020….. BIGLY!!!
President Trump is “BIG LEAGUE” not JV like past presidents!
Yeh? Trump must be the star of the A’s (for assholes).