Trump criticizes Harris, avoids talking about racism and January 6

WASHINGTON – Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Tuesday in Pennsylvania practiced a policy of avoidance.

During the 80-minute rally in Allentown, Trump did not discuss allegations of racism stemming from his Sunday rally in Allentown. Madison Square Gardenbut praised Latino and Puerto Rican voters.

And he didn’t discuss it in detail Vice President Kamala Harris a competing speech accusing him of threatening democracy and inciting the insurrection on January 6, 2021.

Instead, he continued his standard attacks on Harris and urged his supporters to get out and vote. “We’re going to win the whole deal,” Trump said.

Trump and his allies also knocked out Joe Biden after he caused a reaction from Republicans pretending to attack Trump supporters. The president later said he was referring to offensive jokes at the former president’s weekend rally.

Here are USA TODAY’s top takeaways from Trump’s campaign shutdown Tuesday:

Trump: Puerto Ricans and Latinos love me

I haven’t mentioned it yet comedian insults Regarding Puerto Rico at his event at Madison Square Garden, Trump really raised the Latino community and invited some prominent Latinos to the stage in Allentown to testify about their support for the island.

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Zoraida Buxo — a “shadow senator” who represents Puerto Rico in Congress but does not have a vote — praised Trump before the crowd.

“I’m so proud that we’re getting support from Latinos like never before… no one loves our Latino community and our Puerto Rican community more than I do,” Trump said. “I have done more for Puerto Rico than any president.”

The Trump administration faced sharp criticism for its response to Hurricane Maria in 2017, which killed nearly 3,000 people, destroyed communities and forced some residents to flee.

The inspector general’s report said tensions within the Republican administration led to delays in disbursing funds approved by Congress.

“Never heard of him”

In an interview recorded Tuesday, Trump told Fox News host Sean Hannity that he didn’t know a comedian who made offensive jokes about Puerto Rico.

In a warm-up speech at a Sunday rally in New York comic Tony Hinchcliffe said, “I don’t know if you guys know this, but there’s literally a floating island of trash in the middle of the ocean right now. I think it’s called Puerto Rico.”

Hinchcliffe and others also made crude jokes about Latinos, blacks and women.

Asked about Hinchcliffe during the Hannity interview, Trump said he had “never heard of him.”

“Someone said there was a comedian who made jokes about Puerto Rico or something and I have no idea who he is, never saw him, never heard of him and don’t want to hear about him “

Hannity also asked Trump if he wished the comedian “wasn’t around.” Trump responded that he wasn’t sure if it was a “big deal” but added: “I don’t want anyone making nasty or stupid jokes. He probably shouldn’t have been there.”

Latinos matter in Pennsylvania, and Pennsylvania matters to Trump.

As Latino leaders condemned Trump for his “trash” remarks and other insults at the rally, the Republican nominee could not have chosen a more sensitive city for the rally: Allentown, which has a large Latino population.

Republican consultant Mike Madrid said there are 450,000 Puerto Rican voters in Pennsylvania – and about 33,500 in Allentown alone. Those numbers are big enough to make a difference in Pennsylvania, a state the Trump and Harris campaigns will likely need if they want to win the election.

“The racial slurs at Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally could cost him the election,” said Madrid, author of “The Latino Century: How America’s Largest Minority is Transforming Democracy.”

“Garbage Time”

After being called to the stage in Allentown, Rubio seized on Joe Biden’s comments in which he appeared to call Trump supporters “trash”, prompting boos from the crowd.

Trump joined in, calling Biden’s comments “terrible.” He compared them to Hillary Clinton’s comments calling some Trump supporters “disgusting” in 2016.

Biden said he was only referring to the offended comedian. The White House also released a transcript Tuesday evening in an attempt to make clear that the president was referring to Hinchcliffe’s action.

“His demonization of Latinos is unconscionable,” the president said on X. “That’s all I have to say. The comments at this rally do not reflect who we are as a nation.”

No talk about January 6th.

Trump took plenty of shots at Harris Tuesday night, but he made no direct mention of her competing speech to an audience of 75,000 people on The Ellipse. This is the same location where Trump gave a speech on January 6, 2021, before a group of his supporters stormed the Capitol building in an attempt to block the certification of the 2020 election.

“This is the man who stood in this very spot almost four years ago and led an armed mob to the United States Capitol,” Harris said. In her speech, she added that Trump, if elected president, has made it clear that he plans to pardon many people. convicted of crimes on January 6th.

In Pennsylvania, Trump did not discuss his actions on Jan. 6 but condemned Harris’ allies for calling him a Nazi and a fascist.

“Desperation,” Trump said, also blaming what he and his allies often joked about was “Trump Derangement Syndrome.”

Trump talks about crowd sizes and exaggerates polls

Trump didn’t just criticize Harris’ remarks on Tuesday. He also blamed the Harris campaign, without evidence, for bringing a crowd to Washington for her Tuesday speech.

He also disdained Harris campaign celebrities such as Beyoncé, who joined the vice president at a rally in Texas last week.

“She didn’t sing,” Trump joked.

When Harris spoke to a crowd of 75,000 at The Ellipse in Washington, Trump was performing in a venue that seats 10,000 for concerts—and there were several empty seats throughout the evening.

The former president also exaggerated the 2024 election polls during a rally in Pennsylvania, claiming a big lead in the commonwealth and other important states such as Michigan.

In fact, polls show a near tie in all seven battlefield states.

No matter, Trump is telling his supporters, “We’re going to beat Kamala Harris and the media.”

However, Trump has often said that he would only talk about good polls and ignore the bad ones. He has also questioned the validity of the polls, telling podcaster Joe Rogan during an interview last week: “I don’t know a single person in my entire life that has ever been called by a pollster.”

Trump Lays Ground for Fraud Charges

Trump also made false claims during the rally that Democrats committed election fraud in the 2024 White House race.

The former president said that one district had already been “caught,” although he distorted the essence of what was happening. Lancaster County officials announced the investigation began after workers flagged about 2,500 voter registration forms for possible fraud. No determinations have been made.

Trump also mentioned other complaints in other parts of Pennsylvania. which are unproven.

The former president has long claimed, without evidence, that voter fraud affected the outcome of the 2020 race for the White House. Four years ago after Election Day, he launched a legal battle in states across the country, but all of his claims of fraud were rejected by the courts.

He currently faces federal criminal charges and state charges in Georgia for allegedly trying to overturn the election.

Last days of Trump rallies

Trump reflected on his 2024 presidential campaign during a speech in Allentown, telling the crowd it was the final week of political rallies that have defined his political career since he announced his first presidential campaign in June 2015.

Win or lose, Trump, 78, has said this is his last campaign. He talked wistfully about how campaign staffers would be working on other campaigns in four years and how much he would miss the raucous rallies that helped define his three presidential campaigns.

It was “a special trip for all of us,” Trump said.