Donald Trump is targeting Pennsylvania, which hasn’t gone for a Republican for president since 1988, believing his populist message can move the state into the GOP column.
During a rally in Pittsburgh on Saturday, Trump made a populist plea to working class whites, which make up a large portion of Pennsylvania voters. Recent polls have shown a close race between Clinton and Trump in the state, which has reliably gone Democratic.
Trump discussed how manufacturing companies have left Pittsburgh, saying that the city got “wiped out, noting, “Your manufacturing is way down, your steel is way down.”
“I love steel. And I love the miners and we are gonna put the miners back to work,” he said.
Calling out companies for leaving the U.S. has been a hallmark in Trump’s campaign rallies.
He also criticized Clinton for saying that she wants to put coal mines out of business. “She is not winning Pennsylvania,” he said.
RealClearPolitics’ polling average shows Clinton leading Trump by four percentage points. Several polls, however, have shown Clinton and Trump tied. A recent poll from the Democratic-leaning Public Policy Polling had Trump and Clinton both at 44 percent.
Trump also took another opportunity to criticize Mitt Romney, who fiercely criticized the presumptive GOP nominee during a CNN interview on Friday. Trump said that Romney was pathetic, saying that he choked when he lost a winnable race back in 2012.
