October 31, 2024
Joshua L. Jones; Online Athens/Richard Burkhart; Savannah Morning News
Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris have made dozens of trips to Pennsylvania over the past few months ahead of Tuesday's election.
With most political pundits saying Pennsylvania is the most important swing state in Tuesday's presidential election, it's not surprising that Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump each have decided to make this state a second home over the past few months.
Combined, the candidates have made more than 50 stops and spent more than half a billion dollars on advertisements in Pennsylvania as they try to capture those critical 19 electoral votes.
RELATED: How long will it take Pennsylvania to count the votes for the 2024 election?
And after all that time, energy and money, the polls still have Harris and Trump at a dead heat heading into Election Day.
To look back at some influential moments on the campaign trail, here are five quotes that each candidate made in Southeastern Pennsylvania:
Vice President Kamala Harris introduces Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate during an event at Temple University's Liacouras Center on Aug. 6.
Ron Adar/SOPA Images/Sipa USA
1. "In 91 days, the nation will know Coach Walz by another name: vice president of the United States."
— At Temple University's Liacouras Center on Tuesday, Aug. 6, introducing Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate.
2. "I know that people are deeply troubled by what is happening to that community in Springfield, Ohio, and it's got to stop. And we've got to say that you cannot be entrusted with standing behind the seal of the president of the United States of America, engaging in that hateful rhetoric that, as usual, is designed to divide us as a country, is designed to have people pointing fingers at each other."
— At a National Associate of Black Journalists panel in Philadelphia on Tuesday, Sept. 17, criticizing Trump and running mate Sen. JD Vance for spreading unsubstantiated claims that Haitian migrants in Springfield were stealing and eating neighbors' pets.
3. "What is at stake in this race are the democratic ideals that our founders and generations of Americans before us have fought for. At stake in this election is the Constitution of the United States it very self. We are here today because we share a core belief — that we must put country before party."
— At Washington Crossing Historic Park in Bucks County on Oct. 16, where dozens of Republicans who are supporting Harris' candidacy joined her on stage.
4. "(Abortion) is probably one of the most fundamental freedoms that we as Americans could imagine, which is the freedom to literally make decisions about your own body. And on some issues, I think we've got to agree that partisanship should be put aside."
– At a CNN town hall in Delaware County on Wednesday, Oct. 23, suggesting she'd be open to ending the filibuster to codify abortion rights into federal law.
5. "Here in Pennsylvania, right now each of us has an opportunity to make a difference. Because in this moment we do face a real question. What kind of country to we we want to live in? The great thing about living in a democracy is we the people have the choice to answer that question. So let us answer not just with our words, but with our works."
– At the Church of Christian Compassion on Sunday, Oct. 27.
Former President Donald Trump works the drive-thru window at a McDonald's in Feasterville-Trevose, Bucks County, on Oct. 20.
Daniella Heminghaus/USA TODAY NETWORK
1. "Few communities have suffered more under the Biden regime than Philadelphia. Under Crooked Joe, the City of Brotherly Love is being ravaged by bloodshed and crime."
— At Temple University's Liacouras Center on Saturday, June 22, Trump's first campaign rally in Philadelphia.
2. "Those two people who went down are patriots. We love them. And because of them, we ended up with some great music, right?"
— At the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Montgomery County, for a town hall on Monday, Oct. 14, that turned into an impromptu concert after two medical emergencies led Trump to halt the question-and-answer session and play music for about 40 minutes.
3. "It requires great expertise, actually, to do it right and to do it fast."
— At a McDonald's in Feasterville-Trevose, Bucks County, on Sunday, Oct. 20, when he manned the fries station and answered questions through the drive-thru window.
4. "I shouldn't have left, I mean, honestly. We did so well ..."
— At an airport in Lititz, Lancaster County, on Sunday, Nov. 3, saying he regretted leaving office as he reflected on the state of border security at the end of his tenure.
5. "I know it very well, and we helped you through a lot of bad storms. No president has done more for Puerto Rico than I have."
— At a round-table discussion in Drexel Hill on Tuesday Oct. 29, a few days after a comedian called Puerto Rico a "floating island of garbage" during a Trump rally at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
