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Aftonbladet was on the last day of the final sprint
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SCRANTON, PENNSYLVANIA. It has been a long and hard electoral campaign. President Trump stands in the icy wind and almost calls on his supporters to come and vote.
Otherwise, this could be one of the last mass gatherings you have.
This time, it takes an even bigger miracle than 2016 for him to win.
The President’s Airforce Two is parked just a hundred yards away. To have as many meetings as possible in a day, it is at airports where Donald Trump holds his last election meetings, the second of five this last day of the campaign.
Several stands and a stage have been built on the runway at Wilkes Barre International Airport in Scranton. American flags fly alert in the strong wind.
It is no coincidence that Trump is making a stop here. Pennsylvania is one of the states that decides who wins the election. Additionally, Scranton is the birthplace of challenger Joe Biden. Trump would like to poke fun at him by making a last-minute attempt to gather votes here.
The sun shines from a mostly blue sky, but the thermometer barely reaches above the zero line.
– Please go and vote, begs the president. Bring your friends and neighbors. Even your boss.
Trump’s opportunity to catch up with Joe Biden lies in the ability to get his supporters to go to the polls today. Turnout in US presidential elections is generally very low. Therefore, the one who is best at enthusiastically and engaging his followers often wins.
Let me judge from those gathered here, Trump wins that game by the lot.
To start with, it takes a lot of motivation to stand in the open stands and expose yourself to the evil wind. We are told that about 10,000 people have arrived. Many of those we speak to have also traveled far.
Photo: JERKER IVARSSON
Almost 100 million Americans have already voted before Election Day.
“Trump wins”
Mary Moran has driven here from Long Island in New York. She is a devoted fan.
– Trump has done an incredibly good job over the past four years. It has fulfilled almost all the electoral promises. He has really put America on the right track even though opponents have done everything they can to stop him.
He wears a Trump hat and scarf. She doesn’t give much for opinion polls.
– My advice is that Trump wins a landslide victory. There is much more energy in this campaign than in the tired Joe Biden gang.
When you are at Trump meetings and meet his supporters, it is easy to get the feeling that the president has the electoral wind behind him, even though opinion polls speak a different language. Biden leads in most of the waveguide states, including Pennsylvania, which Trump won last time out. It can even be a great victory.
The applause already rises as Trump descends the flight of stairs and heads straight for the podium.
– When I see all the people here, I do not imagine that we will be seconds, says Trump and people shout their joy.
– We love Pennsylvania and if we win Pennsylvania, we will win it all.
New applause.
Photo: JERKER IVARSSON
Trump repeatedly taunts Biden from the podium.
Hate motivates
Democrats may not be as excited about Biden, but they have another driving force. They hate Trump. Hate is also an effective sentiment to get people to vote.
Almost 100 million Americans have already voted before Election Day. More than two-thirds of all votes were cast in the 2016 elections. Therefore, many believe that there will be a record turnout. Something that usually benefits Democrats.
Although supporters are enthusiastic, Trump feels a bit rejected compared to when I saw him on the campaign trail four years ago.
His speech comes and goes without any common thread and most of his points are delivered without much conviction. The voice is weak and strained.
Perhaps he himself has lost faith in victory. Or he’s just tired of the high pace he maintains in the final sprint. Trump says he first went to bed at two in the morning in Miami and then got up at eight to fly to North Carolina for their first meeting.
Over and over, he taunts Joe Biden in different ways from the podium. He accuses him of being corrupt and incompetent and claims that the media are hiding the truth about how he gets money from foreign governments. A conspiracy to help Biden, according to Trump.
The public responds enthusiastically with the shout “Lock him up,” Lock him up. But in 2012, the screams were louder when the same motto was applied to Hillary Clinton.
Trump interprets various misrepresentations of Joe Biden in which he says, for example, that he is fighting to win the Senate and forgets the name of his opponent and calls him George.
Photo: JERKER IVARSSON
Every time Trump mentions Biden’s name, the audience is excited.
Laughs at biden
Trump smirks and rolls his eyes. It is unpleasant but perhaps effective.
The age and confusion it sometimes shows is something that makes some voters doubt.
The audience laughs at Bidern’s mistakes and every time Trump mentions Biden’s name, they boo. But there is a long way to go among truly enthusiastic posts.
A giant American flag hangs between two cranes, held together with heavy chains. The wind makes it lie like a roof above Trump’s head.
The president will not launch new attacks. He also doesn’t have any new program proposals like this one in the final sprint. Trump repeats what he said in hundreds of meetings and sounds pretty resigned.
I notice that some are heading towards the exit before I finish speaking. But it can also be the cold.
When he returns to the presidency, he has three meetings left. So the campaign is over. If you don’t win, this is somehow your way out. It is true that he will remain in the White House until January 20, but for many ordinary Americans, this may be the last time they will see him in the presidency.
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