Trump is on tap to rally Pennsylvania voters near Biden’s native Scranton and counter Harris’ surge

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. (AP) — Donald Trump is rallying voters on Saturday in northeastern Pennsylvania, a swath of the pivotal battleground state where he hopes conservative, white working-class voters near President Joe Biden’s hometown will boost the Republican’s chances of winning back the White House.

In 2016 and 2020, Trump crushed his Democratic rivals in the county that is home to blue-collar Wilkes-Barre. This Rust Belt region, home to Biden’s native Scranton, offers Trump hope and helps him spotlight Democratic vulnerabilities after the president ended his reelection bid and Vice President Kamala Harris launched her campaign.

His remarks, expected at 4 p.m. EDT, come as Democrats prepare for their four-day national convention that kicks off Monday in Chicago and will mark the party’s welcoming of Harris as their nominee. Her replacement of Biden with less than four months before the November election reinvigorated Democrats and their coalition, and has presented a new challenge for Trump.

He has hammered Harris on the economy, associating her with the Biden administration’s inflation woes and likening her latest proposal against price gouging to measures in communist nations. Trump says a federal ban on price gouging for groceries would lead to food shortages, rationing and hunger.

<bsp-list-loadmore data-module="" class=«PageListStandardB» data-gtm-region=«RELATED COVERAGE» data-gtm-topic=«No Value» data-show-loadmore=«true» data-gtm-modulestyle=«List B»> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> RELATED COVERAGE </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> A stowaway groundhog is elevated to local icon </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> Pennsylvania troopers