Pennsylvania Gets a Trump Shot in the Arm

GREENSBURG, Pennsylvania—In January of last year, the New York disco band Village People let out a sigh of relief when President Donald Trump left office, telling Billboard that the former president’s “abusive use” of their music “has finally ended.” But now more than a year after leaving the White House, Trump has found that the band’s “Y.M.C.A.” is still a crowd pleaser at his rallies—rain or shine.

His recent campaign event at the Westmoreland Fairgrounds in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, was no exception. “What weather!” the former president said Friday evening to a large crowd of his supporters, most of whom were decked head-to-toe in mud-spattered Trump gear after waiting for hours to hear him speak. “We’re gonna have a lot of fun, Pennsylvania, we’re gonna have a lot of fun.”

Rally attendees trekked through pools of mud, a soggy field of parked cars, and a maze of “Get Your Trump Gear Here!” pop-up stands selling knick-knacks splattered with MAGA monikers: “Deplorable Damn Right” read one sticker, “The Final Variant is Called Communism” read another. Closer to the arena was a giant jumbotron projecting Trump’s “official” donor livestream—$25 from Joe A. of Mississippi, $45 from Elizabeth W. of Arkansas, $500 from Connie M. of Ohio—its electric blue screen contrasting with the backdrop of Friday evening’s dark and cloudy sky. 

As soon as Trump took the stage he launched into a freewheeling speech about inflation—“I got gas way down to $1.87 a gallon!”—the war in Ukraine—“when I was there, [Putin] would never have done it”—the Russia probe—“It was a fake con job”— and even J.D. Vance, who last week won the Republican primary for U.S. Senate in Ohio— “He’s a great hot celebrity!”