Obama and Trump to the rescue in Pennsylvania, in the final stretch of the mid-term elections

First modification: 06/11/2022 – 14:19

From Special Envoys Guillaume Naudin (Latrobe) and Loubna Anaki (Philadelphia)

Three days before the crucial mid-term elections in the United States, President Joe Biden and his predecessor Barack Obama urged people to vote to protect American democracy, during a rally in Philadelphia. Also in Pennsylvania, but at the other extreme, in Latrobe, near Pittsburgh, former President Donald Trump, in his own way, encouraged a rally where he called for “saving the American dream.”

True to himself, Donald Trump put on his show a la Donald Trump. First with a spectacular arrival, on his personal plane, with his name in very large letters. The plane stopped right in front of the spectators who had been waiting for it since very early, reported the RFI Special Envoy to Latrobe, Guillaume Naudin:

Donald Trump says he loves Pennsylvania, and like the rest of the United States, wants to save it “from the decline and incompetence of his Democratic opponents.” Trump first addressed a touchy subject, limitations on shale gas production, declaring, “Biden and the crazies on the far left have declared war on Pennsylvania energy, they’re crushing Pennsylvania jobs, they’re gutting Pennsylvania communities and They crush Pennsylvania families with prices that are going up like never before. Other than that, they’re doing a fantastic job.”

Hold on, I’m coming

To bring order, Donald Trump sees a solution: “If you want to stop the destruction of our country and save the American dream, this Tuesday you must vote for the Republicans in a giant red wave.”

But that is only part of the solution. Donald Trump also wants to take back what he feels was stolen from him in 2020: the White House. And the whole world is waiting for him to declare his candidacy for 2024. “Listen everyone, I promise you that in the next few days, in a very, very, very short time, all of you are going to be very happy.”

After two hours of speech, he left as he had arrived, on his personal plane, to the sound of a famous soul hit whose chorus is explicit: “Hold on, I’m coming”, Wait, I’m here….

Barack Obama in duet with Joe Biden in Philadelphia

In a sign of the battle that is taking place in this state, the Democratic Party also sent two of its main figures on Saturday to mobilize voters: Joe Biden and Barack Obama went to support the Democratic candidates. “Democracy itself is at stake,” are the words of the two presidents, as reported by the RFI’s Special Envoy to Philadelphia, Loubna Anaki.

“Democracy is literally on the ballot. This is a watershed moment for the nation and we must all speak with one voice,” Biden said in Philadelphia, the birthplace of the US Constitution in the late 18th century.

Biden and Obama discussed the right to abortion, the right to vote and individual freedoms. They also indirectly criticized Republicans who, according to Barack Obama, are “willing to do anything to stay in power at the cost of facts and values.”

“Go vote!”

For almost an hour, with his usual energy, Barack Obama repeated over and over “Go vote!” What is at stake is a fair economy that gives workers a chance. Freedoms are at stake. Truth, facts, logic, reason and decency are at stake. Democracy itself is at stake, there are many things at stake,” stressed the former president.

Every vote will count in these crucial elections

It is no accident that Joe Biden and Barack Obama were in Pennsylvania to support the Democratic candidates. Josh Shapiro is the candidate for governor of Pennsylvania and John Fetterman for senator. This campaign in Pennsylvania is crucial because it could decide the majority in the Senate. John Fetterman is running afoul of Republican candidate Mehmet Oz, so Democrats know that every vote will count. “Go vote, tell your friends and family to go vote,” Biden and Obama insisted.

The crowd left determined to get the message across. While most said they were optimistic about winning Pennsylvania, some acknowledged it won’t be easy and said they were concerned about the Republicans winning Congress.

(With reporting from Guillaume Naudin, RFI Special Envoy to Latrobe and Loubna Anaki, in Philadelphia.)

Listen to Carlos Herranz’s program dedicated to this topic:

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