Walz talks health care reform, Trump’s rhetoric at Scranton rally

SCRANTON — With just days to go until the 2024 presidential election, Gov. Tim Walz, the Democratic vice presidential candidate, was in the Electric City on Friday night. The Scranton Cultural Center at the Masonic Temple hosted the Minnesota governor, who propped up his running mate Kamala Harris’ candidacy for president and lashed out against her Republican opponent, former president Donald Trump.

Walz spent an early portion of his speech playing to the Scranton-based audience and praising the area’s values.

“This is a place with a long tradition of people who know something about hard work and people who know what it means to serve this nation. And you even have somebody who knows what it means to be the President of the United States,” Walz said, referring to Scranton native President Joe Biden.

Walz continued to praise Biden’s long tenure in public service and contrasted it with Trump’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and a series of recent comments by former Trump administration officials. Walz cited Trump’s former Chief of Staff, General John F. Kelly, who called Trump a fascist and an admirer of Adolf Hitler.

Walz, a veteran of 24 years, was particularly disturbed by Trump’s alleged praise of Nazi generals.

“Maybe Donald forgot that Hitler and his generals were on the other side of this thing,” Walz said, referring to World War II. “It was the sons of Minnesota and Pennsylvania that were carrying the stars and stripes that kicked [Hitler’s] ass and saved this world from fascism.”

Walz also went after Trump’s recent “enemy from within” comments and suggested that he would be near the top of Trump’s list of domestic enemies.

“But don’t kid yourself. Eventually, you’ll be on that list, too,” Walz warned the audience. “That’s how dictators work.”

Despite the jabs at Trump, Walz described himself as an “eternal optimist” and eventually shifted his focus to the agenda Harris hopes to enact as president. He encouraged voters not to vote against Trump, but to vote for Harris and her policies.

Walz said a Harris administration would lower costs on the middle class through a package of economic initiatives.

“Under the plan we’ve put together, 100 million Americans squarely in the middle class will see a tax cut for them,” said Walz. “A child tax credit to reduce childhood poverty, $6,000 in the first year of that child’s life to get them off to a good start…”

Walz added that Harris would continue to target corporate price gouging in the health care and transportation industries, a practice he called “immoral.”

According to Walz, Harris’ health care plans would also include Medicare reform.

“She proposed something that’s a game-changer — having Medicare pay for in-home care for people so they can stay in their homes,” said Walz. He also told the crowd that Harris’ reforms would require Medicare to cover the cost of vision and hearing care.

Walz’s health care points were frequently interrupted by pro-Palestinian protestors, which have become commonplace at Harris and Walz rallies. Each time, the protestors’ shouts were overpowered by chants of “Coach! Coach! Coach!” by Walz’s supporters.

Other topics Walz focused on included Harris’ support for affordable housing and gun reform. While discussing his own status as a gun owner, Walz took a swipe at Trump’s significant legal issues by raising a hypothetical about what would happen if Trump attempted to buy a gun.

“Imagine [Trump] going into Bass Pro Shop, filling out the form, and the form comes back that you’ve got 34 felony convictions,” Walz said. “They’d kick you out of the store.”

Walz spent most of his speech’s closing moments on the topic of women’s health. When discussing fertility treatments, which were used at one time by Walz and his wife, he took a strong, personal stance in support of reproductive rights.

“You don’t want an elected official, certainly not Donald Trump, to make the decision whether you can have a family or not,” Walz said. “It’s immoral, and it shouldn’t stand.”

Other speakers

Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti kicked off the rally by welcoming the crowd and sharing her support for Harris and Walz. She reflected on her experience at the Democratic National Convention in August, where she met former football players who were coached by Walz during his time as a high school coach. Cognetti initially wanted those football players to come to Scranton, but the Democratic campaign took it a step further and offered a Walz-led rally instead.

Cognetti pointed out the differences of being a mayor during the Biden administration in comparison to the Trump administration. She said that the Biden administration actively calls to check in on Scranton, while the Trump administration did no such thing.

“I know what it’s like in a Trump administration. There is no one on the end of that phone,” Cognetti said. “And worse, there’s probably a lot of defunding coming.”

State Senator Marty Flynn took a policy-heavy approach to his remarks. He attempted to sell the crowd on Harris’ proposed economic and labor policies, which he framed as a far cry from Trump’s proposals.

“[Harris and Walz’s] forward-thinking vision for entrepreneurs and small businesses show how committed they are to investing in American innovation, helping to spur millions of new businesses by expanding the tax deduction for new businesses from $5,000 to $50,000,” said Flynn.

Pennsylvania Conference of Teamsters President Bill Hamilton touted the Biden-Harris administration’s accomplishments for laborers.

“They’ve rescued hundreds of thousands of pensions that were in danger of going under because of Wall Street’s mismanagement,” Hamilton said.

By contrast, Hamilton framed Trump as only looking out for “his rich friends,” such as billionaire Elon Musk, whose connection to Trump has tightened in recent weeks.

“[Trump] doesn’t care about working people,” the labor leader exclaimed. “He could care less about you and I and the people I represent.”

Other speakers included Harris-Walz campaign field organizer Laura McCarty, and Susan Blum Connors, a former public school teacher and the widow of former Scranton Mayor Jim Connors.