Donald Trump spoke to a crowd of thousands of supporters early Saturday evening at Penn State’s Bryce Jordan Center, bringing members of the Nittany Lion wrestling team on stage, appealing to young voters with a claim to create a better economy and railing against his Democratic opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris.
“If you vote for me, I will ensure that you can get your careers, young people, in a roaring economy, in a time of unprecedented peace and prosperity,” Trump told the mixed-age, battleground-state crowd that filled the lower bowl and floor of the arena, where the upper deck was curtained off and unused.
Nine days before the election, the former president and 2024 Republican nominee arrived on stage about an hour and 40 minutes after his scheduled start time, waving, swaying and taking in applause while “God Bless the U.S.A.” blared.
Over the course of his 80-minute remarks, interspersed with videos, Trump touched on the economy, energy, transgender women in sports, immigration, crime and foreign relations, while continuing his familiar refrain of calling President Joe Biden and Harris “the worst,” claiming they are “vessels” for a leftist machine. As he did earlier in the day in Michigan, Trump mocked Harris’ recent televised town hall and referred to CNN host Anderson Cooper as “Allison.”
Pledging to “drill, baby, drill” on day one, Trump criticized Harris for her shifting position on fracking.
“We’ll have energy independence again,” Trump claimed, although the U.S. has long imported fuels, including in Trump’s first term.
He also painted a grim picture of immigration, pointing to crimes committed by undocumented individuals, and once again said he would “launch the largest deportation program in United States history.”
Repeating a comment he made earlier the week, Trump described undocumented immigrants as “garbage.”
“We’ve become like a garbage can for the rest of the world,” he said. “They’re throwing all their garbage into our country.”
On the economy, Trump said he would cut corporate taxes, eliminate taxes on tips and Social Security, and make interest on loans for American-made cars tax-deductible.
Claiming he is “gonna get that war settled” in Ukraine, Trump said he “had a relationship” with Russian President Vladimir Putin and basked in the praise of far-right ultranationalist Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
Among his closing remarks, Trump told supporters “you must get out the vote,” and warned he would make burning the U.S. flag a crime punishable by a year in jail.
Trump mentioned Penn State’s powerhouse wrestling team — which had more than a dozen current and former wrestlers in attendance — on multiple occasions throughout the night.
“You’re going to dream big just like your wrestling team dreams big,” Trump said early in his remarks. “I hear that team is brutal… Maybe I’ll wrestle one or two of them. That would be an upset. No, I’m not going to play that game.
Later in the evening, Trump welcomed those Nittany Lion wrestlers in attendance onto the stage.
“I don’t know if this platform can hold them because that’s a lot of muscle. You know, muscle is much heavier than fat they tell me, fellas. These guys are something. That’s a lot of muscle,” Trump said, also calling former Penn State wrestler Bo Nickal, who was not in attendance, “a friend of mine.”
Zain Retherford, a three-time national champion at Penn State and 2024 Olympian, spoke briefly in support of Trump.
“Pennsylvania’s a super-important state. We need to win this election, and let’s make America great again. Go vote,” Retherford said.
Prior to Trump’s arrival, a series of guests spoke for about an hour. Among them were Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Pennsylvania U.S. Reps. John Joyce, R-13, and Glenn Thompson, R-15, who represents Centre County.
The three congressional members struck on similar themes as Trump, though with varying tones.
“It doesn’t matter what you think about the system, you still have to vote, because if you don’t vote, and you sit it out, you’re allowing everything to continue to go on that you don’t like,” Taylor Greene said.
Also speaking were local businessman Rob Shearer, former Hunter Biden business associate and Penn State alum Tony Bobulinski and student Kale Ogunbor. Pastor Jody Reese of Nittany Baptist Church in Boalsburg led the opening prayer, student Danny Kunselman led the Pledge of Allegiance, and Ryan Brown sang the national anthem.
Outside the Jordan Center, several groups of protesters congregated. A protest led by the People’s Defense Front and the Student Committee for Defense and Solidarity marched from downtown to the arena, and other protesters held anti-Trump signs outside the BJC. The protests remained peaceful.
Before the rally, the Harris campaign sent out endorsements from two current Penn State trustees and former Nittany Lion athletes: former soccer player Ali Krieger and former football quarterback Matt McGloin.
“When I think of what it means to be a Nittany Lion, I think of hard work, integrity and commitment to the team. All things that are in complete contradiction with everything Doanld Trump stands for,” Krieger, an Olympian and two-time World Cup champion, said. “Trump has never cared about Team USA—he’s only ever played for Team Trump. He used the White House to look out for himself at the expense of everyone else—and went after anyone who didn’t agree with him. Now, he’s 78 years old and desperately trying to regain power to control our lives and help himself instead of helping us. Vice President Harris has spent her entire career serving the American people. She will move our country forward and fight for us. It’s time to turn the page on Trump—and get out and vote.”
“We’ve all seen the chaos that comes from an unhinged Donald Trump putting himself first with no regard for anyone else but himself,” McGloin, who is also a Lackawanna County commissioner, said. “We have no interest in helping an increasingly unhinged and unstable Trump go back to his glory days at our expense. In stark contrast, Vice President Harris has always had our backs and will continue to fight for Pennsylvanians. From his shameless lies to his continued efforts to raise costs and undermine our freedoms, we are ready to turn the page on Donald Trump and elect Vice President Harris.”
The Seven Mountains AFL-CIO also issued a statement on Trump’s visit.
“While a notorious scab was speaking at Bryce Jordan, the local AFL-CIO knocked hundreds of union doors to turn out union voters in Centre County,” union President Connor Lewis wrote. “The former President is a national disgrace, and we look forward to him never again having reason to visit Centre County after November 5.”
