Here are five takeaways from Donald Trump’s Johnstown rally

Former President Donald Trump called his rally in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, a “spectacle” Friday night as he performed a set of his greatest hits.

During his often meandering speech, Trump repeatedly criticized illegal immigration, railed against the media’s treatment of him, attacked Vice President Kamala Harris for fracking and boasted about the size of the crowd at 1st Summit Arena, a variation of a speech he gave earlier in a must-win state.

Trump is currently in a close race in Pennsylvania with Harris, according to an August poll by Emerson College/the Hillwhich indicates that support for both candidates is 48% among likely voters.

“We win this state, we win everything,” Trump said Friday.

But the former president focused most of his speech not on Johnstown but on a visit nearly 180 miles away to Arlington National Cemetery that sparked nationwide outrage and even led to a uncommon public statement by the Army.

Here are the takeaways from Trump’s Johnstown rally:

‘I would like to get a lot less publicity,’ Trump said of Arlington incident

Trump was referring to an incident that occurred Monday when he visited Arlington National Cemetery at the request of grieving family members who wanted him to be there to honor the memory of 13 American soldiers who died during the evacuation from Afghanistan.

Pentagon officials feared Trump’s visit would become a campaign stop — an act federally banned — and their fears became a reality when a cemetery worker tried to block Trump’s team from bringing cameras to the graves of American soldiers. A campaign aide insisted the cameras were allowed and pushed them past the worker.

Trump objected, arguing that the family asked him for a photo at the gravestone and that he “certainly wasn’t doing it for the publicity.”

“I would like to have a lot less publicity,” Trump said. “I’m the only guy who would hire a PR agent to have less publicity.”

Trump campaign says employee had ‘mental episode’ which led to the army issuing a uncommon statement in which it was stated that “unfortunately, [cemetery] “the employee and her professionalism were unfairly attacked.”

Trump says he looks forward to debating Harris

It appears the Harris and Trump campaigns can’t tear themselves away from Pennsylvania ahead of Labor Day weekend and a week before the two candidates face off in the ABC presidential debate in Philadelphia.

Harris will join President Joe Biden in Pittsburgh on Monday to rally union voters on Labor Day, their first appearance together since Harris officially accepted the Democratic nomination.

The former president will then return to Pennsylvania on Wednesday, where he is expected to join Fox News host Sean Hannity for a meeting with residents in Harrisburg.

Trump has previously expressed doubts about his participation in the debate with Harris, citing various allegations, but on Friday night he confirmed: “I look forward to debating her.”

The former president’s involvement in the debate has become something of a saga over the past few weeks. Trump originally pulled out of the debate due to his ongoing legal dispute with ABC News and host George Stephanopoulos and the fact that Biden will no longer be his opponent.

He finally agreed to the debate earlier this month, but recently suggested he might skip the debate before confirming otherwise Friday night. Meanwhile, the Harris and Trump campaigns have sparred over whether there should be live microphones during the debate.

Trump: ‘Practice, honey, practice’

Trump has criticized Harris for her vacillating views on fracking, as he and his vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance have done during recent visits to Pennsylvania, where the drilling industry is important to many residents.

The message was especially relevant to the working class in Johnstown, where he said four years ago he “brought steel back.” The former president and Vance, the Ohio senator, have been traveling the state trying to woo working-class voters.

“I’m going to tell Pennsylvania to drill, baby, drill,” Trump said, repeating what had become something of a catchphrase for him and Vance. “We’re going to drill, baby, drill.”

Harris supported a ban on fracking as a presidential candidate in 2019, but withdrew that position after becoming Biden’s vice presidential candidate in 2020. She no longer supports a ban in 2024, something she confirmed during an interview with CNN on Thursday night, saying, “We’re in 2024, and I haven’t changed that position, nor will I change that position in the future. I’ve kept my word, and I’ll keep my word.”

A display of inflammatory rhetoric

Trump continued his criticism of Harris on Friday night and played into his signature “us versus them” style of thinking, exemplified by the former president assuring the crowd that a rowdy audience member was “on our side.”

But at times his rhetoric has become more aggressive. Trump said that if a Republican acted like Harris did at the border, “they would hang him.”

Also on immigration, Trump repeated his claim that other countries are sending convicts to the U.S. He said he would seek the death penalty for drug dealers and laughed off media questions he would receive on the subject.

The divisive rhetoric that has become a hallmark of the Trump campaign has become a central talking point in the Democratic Party.

In his acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention, Harris said: “Imagine Donald Trump without any safeguards. How he would use the immense power of the president of the United States — not to improve your life, but to serve the only customer he has ever had: himself.”

Trump Quotes RFK Jr.: ‘Make America Healthy Again’

In the first few moments of his speech, Trump borrowed language from Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who suspended his campaign and endorsed Trump in a Pennsylvania lawsuit last week. Kennedy, an anti-vaccine activist and former environmental lawyer, said Trump would “make America healthy again.”

“We will remove toxic chemicals from our environment and from our bodies,” Trump said.

During the government of the former president, completed over 100 environmental policiesincluding bans on toxic chemicals and weakening policies on healthier school lunches, which Kennedy was a sturdy advocate for.