Orange and red hard hats dotted the crowd at a Donald Trump rally in western Pennsylvania on Saturday night as he presented himself as the savior of the steel industry, a key part of the region’s identity, and made off-color remarks about the late pro golfer Arnold Palmer, a local hero.
“We saved the steel industry in this country, and now we’re going to to make it really powerful again,” Trump said, as he and Vice President Kamala Harris battled for votes in the critical swing state.
Blue collar workers are a key part of Trump’s populist message, and he has long touted his support from union members, even in cases where union leadership has chosen to support Harris. The United Steelworkers endorsed Harris in July, and President Joe Biden won praise from the union this year for blocking a takeover of U.S. Steel by Japan’s top steelmaker.
“As far as I’m concerned, President Trump saved the American steel industry by imposing tariffs on Chinese steel that was dumped illegally in extremely low prices on our shores trying to put us out of business,” Glenn Thomas, a third-generation steelworker, told the crowd before Trump took the stage.
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The head of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters spoke at the Republican convention this year, but later chose not to endorse either candidate. Trump said at the rally that he has “overwhelming” support from rank-and-file members of the Teamsters.
An ode to Arnold Palmer
The rally, at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport, named for the late champion pro golfer, was a macho and, at times, off-color affair.
Trump spent his first 15 minutes at the microphone extolling Palmer’s masculinity − and anatomy.
“Arnold Palmer was all man,” he told the crowd. “And I say that in all due respect to women. And I love women. But this guy. This guy. This is a guy that was all man. This man was all strong and tough. And I refused to say it but when − when he took showers with the other men, they came out of there, they said, ‘Oh my god. That’s unbelievable.’”
“I had to say it,” he told the audience. “I had to say it. We have women that are highly sophisticated here, but…Arnold was something special.”
“And I had to tell you the shower part of it because it’s − it’s true,” he added. “What can I tell? We want to be honest.”
The Harris campaign wasted no time in ridiculing Trump’s rhapsody to Palmer’s physique.
“In a Pennsylvania rally speech his campaign team billed as ‘the beginning of his closing argument in the final stretch,’ Donald Trump focused on the issue most important to voters in this election: a deceased golfer’s … anatomy,” Harris’ campaign said in an email.
As Trump shook their hands on stage, the steel workers joked about how much they liked their overtime pay.
“No tax on overtime,” one man said, echoing a Trump campaign proposal.
“No child support on overtime,” said another.
Trump didn’t reply.
