Trump sticks to script in Bucks appearance

Calling the movement he created "Brexit times five," Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Friday night spoke to a crowd of thousands in Bucks County, where he vowed again to jail illegal immigrants who have reentered the country, to impose term limits for Congress, and to rebuild the "inner cities of Philadelphia."

Slideshow

Trump sticks to script in Bucks appearance

Advertisment

of

Gallery:

Race for the White House

• Trump's 'rigged election' claim resonates with some GOP Philly poll workers

• Armstrong: Trump gets on my last nerve when he talks about 'the African Americans'

• Clinton, Kaine to appear at rally at Penn on Saturday

In Newtown Township, a 12-square-mile area where pastures are prevalent and neon Trump billboards dot the expressway leading into town, the candidate spoke for 30 minutes and offered very little that was new or surprising. He stuck to familiar themes, such as beating up on Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.

Clinton, he said, is the "most corrupt person ever to run for the presidency." He then lamented the "badly depleted military" of the United States.

The crowd inside the Newtown Athletic Club Sports Training Center responded with lusty cheers.

Jumping from topic to topic, Trump said some cities are "as dangerous as war zones," where "you walk into a store with your child and you get shot."

For a while, Trump fixated on the nation's infrastructure, saying its roads and bridges are "falling apart." Then he went on to restoring manufacturing jobs and building a wall at the Mexican border.

With just 18 days until Election Day, Trump's swing through Bucks County reinforced the notion that Pennsylvania and its 20 electoral votes remain up for grabs.

Clinton and her running mate, Sen. Tim Kaine, are scheduled to visit the University of Pennsylvania on Saturday night.

The 70-year-old Trump held a slight edge in the state in July, recent polls suggest that his support has diminished. On Monday, a Quinnipiac University poll had Clinton with a 6-point lead - 47 percent to 41 percent.

But the thousands who turned out Friday seemed unfazed by reports of Trump's grasp on the region slipping.

Hundreds hoisted Trump-Pence signs in the air, and Hunter Tirpak, the 2-year-old "Baby Trump" who stole the show at a rally in Wilkes-Barre last week, scurried around the floor of the club for his third rally for the candidate.

Outside, groups of voters boasted shirts that read, "I'm an Adorable Deplorable."

When two dozen Clinton protesters showed up, hundreds of Trump supporters chanted, "Lock her up!"

And despite tremendous criticism that the Republican has faced in recent weeks, among supporters outside his rally, much of that was no matter.

"Even if he used to be a millionaire playboy, he's been married for 11 years, he's grown up," said Gail Holvey, a 65-year-old Yardley resident.

Plus, she said, "what do we have to lose?"

cmccabe@philly.com

610-313-8113