President Donald Trump got remarkably candid on Tuesday night with his supporters in Pennsylvania, a state he desperately needs to win on Election Day, by telling them that if he had a choice, he wouldn’t have bothered to grace them with his presence.
“Four or five months ago when we started this whole thing….before the plague came in, I had it made,” Trump said during a rally in Erie, Pennsylvania. “I wasn’t coming to Erie. I mean I have to be honest, there’s no way I was coming. I didn’t have to.”
Unfortunately, the President complained to his supporters, the pesky COVID-19 pandemic that’s caused his approval ratings to plummet forced him to actually reach out to them.
“And then we got hit with the plague, and I had to go back to work,” Trump said. “Hello, Erie. Can I please have your vote?”
Strangely enough, the comment met with cheers and applause from the crowd. Everyone else, however, was wondering why an incumbent presidential candidate would explicitly tell voters in a crucial swing state (one in which he’s trailing Democratic rival Joe Biden by a little over 6 points in the polls) that he didn’t want to be there:
President Trump says that if it wasn’t for Covid there’s no way he’d even be campaigning in Erie, Pennsylvania where he’s holding his rally tonight. Bit of a curious message for the crowd.
— Lewis Goodall (@lewis_goodall) October 21, 2020
Hey baby, you know I love you. Aren't you lucky my date with the good looking girl fell through so I would come here and let you be with me? It's your lucky night.
— The Grumpy Bear (@BearOfGrump) October 21, 2020
He HATES his base. And that loathing is coming to the surface.
— Lauren (@sequinpants) October 21, 2020
Hooo, boy. That's not gonna help him in Pennsylvania https://t.co/9tMjwejJHj
— Brian Ray (@brianrayguitar) October 21, 2020
I used to be so great and popular I didn't have to cater to you losers, but now that I'm desperate please vote for me.
Not sure it's the winning message he thinks it is. https://t.co/5iF8pXCQeS
— Khashoggi’s Ghost (@UROCKlive1) October 21, 2020
"I wasn't coming to Erie … I have to be honest, there was no way I was coming" — Trump's pitch to Erie is basically telling people how much he doesn't want to be there. Bold strategy. pic.twitter.com/w20eDebFfz
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 21, 2020
Imagine if Hillary Clinton, or Joe Biden, said: I really don't want to be here, but I had to come because, well, I'm losing. https://t.co/I2dSWxt1ta
— Michelangelo Signorile, subscribe to my newsletter (@MSignorile) October 21, 2020
Similar to his "I'm never coming back here if I lose" riff.
He has nothing but contempt for these crowds that come to see him.
— Bob Anderson (@rwa_) October 21, 2020
"I had no reason to come see some of you peons before, but now I've decided to come beg for your vote."
— Chris LaFortune (@cubreporter) October 21, 2020
