President Donald Trump visited Erie, Pennsylvania for the second time last Wednesday, the first being back in 2016, for which it was reported that nearly 8,000 people were in attendance. Trump stated on Wednesday that he believed the crowd looked larger than it did in 2016.

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The campaign rally was held at the Erie Insurance Arena and began at the scheduled time of 7 p.m.. It lasted just over an hour, although Trump was not the only one to speak, for he shared the stage with a few of the Republican candidates running in the upcoming midterm election to be held on November 6, 2018.

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Before Trump took the stage, Pennsylvania State Senator Michele Brooks kicked off the evening with roughly four minutes of remarks. Congressman Glenn Thompson followed, speaking for nearly five minutes, and Scott Wagner, who was presented as “the next Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,” spoke next for around six minutes. After some time, Trump stepped on stage, greeted by a roaring red audience.

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Trump began by giving his condolences to the victims of Hurricane Michael, which made landfall on the Florida Panhandle that same day. He then addressed the crowd: “I’m thrilled to be here tonight in Erie, Pennsylvania, with thousands of loyal, hardworking and beautiful American patriots.”

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He stated that there has been much progress made during his less than two years in office. “Tonight we are going to discuss the extraordinary achievements we’ve made for our fellow citizens in less than two years time,” continuing on by saying, “and we will discuss the next steps we must take to protect this amazing progress, and to continue building an even greater future for all Americans.” Trump followed by stating, “This has been the greatest revolution to ever take place in our country.”

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Trump did not talk too much about Kavanaugh, although he did state, “As you know, on Monday night, we proudly swore in the newest member of the United States Supreme Court Justice, Brett Kavanaugh.”

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Beginning to discuss the upcoming election less than ten minutes into the rally, Trump stated, “On November sixth, you can vote to reject the Democrats shameful conduct by electing Republican house, and really, we need it badly, we need these votes, a Republican Senate. Under Republican leadership, America is booming, America is thriving, and America is winning like never before, because we are finally putting America first.”

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Trump went on to highlight more of his accomplishments, a topic which he dug deeper into later on in the rally.

“It was just announced that manufacturing confidence is at an all time high, historically,” said Trump. “We are putting our miners back to work, we are putting our steel workers back to work,” he continued.

“One of the hottest industries right now in our country is American steel. U.S. Steel is opening and expanding seven different plants… and what does it mean for you? Jobs, jobs, very simple,” Trump explained.

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The creation of news jobs is something that was heavily stressed by all speakers throughout the rally.

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Trump then introduced Mike Kelly, saying “Just like your other Congressmen, Mike is strong on crime, tough as hell on borders, powerful on trade, and he is really great on jobs.”

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Congressman Mike Kelly was then invited on stage where he addressed the crowd for around five minutes. “We are going to replenish the sand on Presque Isle,” Kelly stated, referring to the sole connection he established between himself and Erie, PA.

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Kelly continued on by explaining the similarities between himself and President Trump, and further promoting the Republican party.

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“A vote for Mike is a vote to make America great again,” Trump followed.

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Trump then addressed Lou Barletta, who is running for the U.S. Senate in the upcoming election. Barletta spoke for around four minutes, introducing statistics about the country that Trump later spoke about in more detail.

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“You're overseeing the greatest economy in American history right now,” said Barletta. “GDP last month was 4.2 percent, unemployment 3.7 percent, four million new jobs were created, and this is the stat I love the most: four million Americans came off of food stamps. Black unemployment at an all time low, Hispanic unemployment at an all time low, women’s unemployment at a 64 year low. There are more jobs than people who are unemployed, and I’ll tell you how good the economy is; this economy is so good that even Colin Kaepernick found a job,” he continued.

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Trump, speaking about Barletta, told the crowd “He’s a great man, really, he’ll be a fantastic for you in Washington, D.C. So while Lou is fighting for you, Bob Casey is fighting to protect violent criminal aliens.”

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Following Barletta, Trump spent a few minutes informing the crowd as to why Bob Casey Jr. would not do as good of a job as Barletta.

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“You must go out and vote Republican, we need those votes in D.C.,” Trump stated.

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Further discussing the statistics that were presented by Barletta, Trump told the crowd “Since the election, as Lou has said, we’ve created over 4.2 million new jobs, and lifted over four million people off of food stamps. We’ve added almost six hundred thousand new manufacturing jobs, they were supposed to be gone forever. African American unemployment has reached its lowest level in history. African American poverty has reached its lowest rate ever recorded in poverty. Hispanic American and Asian American unemployment has also reached historic lows, lowest in history.” Trump continued on by saying, “Women’s unemployment has just fallen to 3.6 percent, which is only the lowest rate in 65 years.”

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“America is not being taken advantage of anymore, America is respected again,” said Trump as he began to conclude the rally.

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The crowd inside the arena was primarily red, although the surrounding area was no stranger to protesters. An announcement that played several times both in and outside the arena leading up to the rally informed those in attendance that the president respects the first amendment as much as the second, and that “to accommodate the right to free speech and peaceful assembly while ensuring an orderly rally, we have provided a secure area outside the venue for all protesters, and we ask anyone wishing to demonstrate to please exit to that secure area.” The announcement continued on, saying “Some individuals may still seek to disrupt our patriotic event, and President Trump needs your help in maintaining a peaceful atmosphere at all times. If a protest starts near you, please do not in any way touch or harm a protestor. Please notify law enforcement officers of the location of the protestors by holding a rally sign over your head and chanting, ‘Trump, Trump, Trump!’ Encourage others around you to do the same until officers have removed the protester from the rally.” For this reason, the “Grab Them By The Ballot” protest was held at what was claimed to be a secure area, the corner of 10th and State Street, located roughly two blocks from the arena and attracting approximately 300 people.

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Protesters of all ages and backgrounds started gathering over two hours prior to Trump’s arrival to display their dissent, presenting the message that “there are a decent amount of people in the city that don’t want his ideas here,” as stated by Fairview High School senior Harlie Yahn.

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Edinboro resident Martha Benoit participated in the protest because she believes the issue “is no longer political, it’s moral.”  She and others, including members of the Benedictine Sisters of Erie, cite the president's values as one of their main concerns.

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“He’s a divider,” said Rita Babo, highlighting the dangerous polarization she feels is being created. “He’s on his ‘Divide America Tour,’” said Barb Rosenborough, “it’s not -- it can’t be -- the American way.” Multiple others claimed Trump to be “hateful,” “fraudulent,” “disrespectful,” and “an embarrassment to the country.” The crowd was fairly peaceful compared to some protests that have been shown in the media, due to the political atmosphere in today’s society.

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There were no major incidents reported from the rally. The crowd cleared the arena fairly quickly, and roughly 15-20 minutes after Trump ended the rally, the crowd outside had also significantly diminished.

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Erie County Young Democrats President Makayla Alicea emphasized the importance of participating in the November election, simply stating “vote.” While President Trump encouraged those in the rally to vote Republican, unless they are tired of winning, the protesters echoed the necessity of voting with their chant “women will remember in November.”  The midterm election, just three weeks away, will show how this rally affected Erie residents and all others who were in attendance.