BFF-03, 04 In Pennsylvania, Trump fans stand by their man

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US-VOTE-PENNSYLVANIA

In Pennsylvania, Trump fans stand by their man

SCRANTON, United States, Aug 22, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – It is not hard to miss
the border between the industrial, mostly Democratic city of Scranton,
Pennsylvania — Joe Biden’s hometown — and its decidedly more right-leaning
outskirts.

Amid all the American flags, the “Biden for president” lawn signs quickly
give way to “Trump-Pence” placards instead.

In Olyphant, a small town north of Scranton, 53-year-old David Mitchko sits
at the entrance to his garage, which is hung with two large flags emblazoned
with the name of US President Donald Trump.

Another giant pro-Trump sign sits in the yard of Mitchko’s little white
house. His whole street looks like it could be getting ready to welcome the
American president for an official visit.

Soda can in hand, the Olyphant native remembers how rare it was to see a
Trump sign in Lackawanna County during his first run for office in 2016.

“Last election, if you were here, you would hardly ever see a Trump sign or
the support that people are showing for him now,” he said. “But it’s
changing. It’s definitely changing.”

Mitchko himself was a Democrat during the last presidential election cycle,
but he found himself casting his ballot for the Republican.

“I went and voted for Trump because I liked what he had to say.”

Mitchko has continued to drift further away from the Democratic party,
because, he says, “they’re not for the working people like they used to be.”

He and his wife spent 20 years working in a CD- and DVD-manufacturing
plant.

“They employed well over 4,000 people at the booming time,” Mitchko said
of his former employer. But they eventually “closed their doors, and moved
the jobs down to Mexico.”

– ‘14,000’ Trump signs –

Mitchko defends Trump tooth and nail, and says Democrats are wrong to
criticize him the way they do.

“No matter what he says, it’s not good. No matter what he does, it’s not
good. They investigate him, come on, almost four years now. Torture,” he
said.

He said that was what pushed him to officially leave the Democratic Party
two years ago and join the Republicans.

But this year his commitment to assure a Trump victory goes even further.
He has turned his garage into a depot to hand out Trump lawn signs and bumper
stickers, and says he has handed out some 14,000 of them to people who were
lining up outside to get them.

MORE/SSS/0836 hrs

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“I was surprised to see some priests come, the local police officers from
all the boroughs and townships and the prison guards from different counties
coming, truck drivers,” Mitchko said.

Sitting on the steps of the family home, his daughter Mackenzie listens
avidly to her father. It is her first election and she will vote for Trump.

“I think he is just trying to do what’s best for America and for the
people,” said the 19-year-old student.

– Swing state –

Pennsylvania is one of the key swing states that could determine the
outcome of the election. Trump won it in 2016 but polls this year show the
president trailing Biden.

In Lackawanna County, where Scranton and Olyphant are located, Democrats
have seen their lead dwindle though. Barack Obama won it by 27 points in 2012
— but four years later Hillary Clinton won it by 3.5 points.

Trump made a campaign stop here on Thursday, the same day Biden made his
acceptance speech as his party’s candidate for president.

Lance Stange, chairman of the county Republican Party, does not hide his
optimism. Since Trump’s election there have been “at least 1,000 people in
the county, approximately, that have left the Democratic Party and join the
Republican Party.”

Despite the coronavirus pandemic, Trump’s team in the northeast of
Pennsylvania continue campaigning on the ground.

“We have done over 50,000 doors out of this office and several hundred
thousand phone call attempts” since May, said Stange, criticizing Democrats
who he said were not actively campaigning.

In the building across the street, Evie Rafalko-McNulty is a well-known
local Democrat. An elected county official, her office is adorned with photos
of her with Barack Obama, and Bill and Hillary Clinton.

She said that with the pandemic, no door-to-door canvassing has been
possible, but she said the Democrats were sending out mailings and hitting
the phones.

“I think for Joe Biden, the task is a lot easier than it was four years
ago,” she said.

“Joe Biden, he’s a part of us and he’s a part of Pennsylvania. And when he
even wasn’t here, he was a neighbor in Pennsylvania, in Delaware. So he
doesn’t have to really prove himself a lot.”

“I think his task is just to be him and talk about the values of the people
of Pennsylvania,” she added.

BSS/AFP/SSS/0837 hrs