While former President Donald Trump prepares to headline the annual Al Smith Dinner in New York on Thursday evening, his surrogates are out on the campaign trail stumping for him. His running mate, Ohio Senator JD Vance, delivered remarks in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, while West Virginia Governor and Senate candidate Jim Justice is headlining an event in Waynesburg, Pennsylvania, along with his "Babydog."
But Vance and Justice aren't the only surrogates barnstorming the Keystone State on Thursday. Tesla CEO and X owner Elon Musk appeared for a town hall event in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Thursday afternoon.
Musk previewed the events on X/Twitter:
Tomorrow night through Monday, I will be giving a series of talks throughout Pennsylvania.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 16, 2024
If you’d like to attend one of my talks, there’s no attendance fee. You just need to have signed our petition supporting free speech & right to bear arms & have voted in this election. https://t.co/2cjdY7oPtB
Tomorrow night through Monday, I will be giving a series of talks throughout Pennsylvania.
If you’d like to attend one of my talks, there’s no attendance fee. You just need to have signed our petition supporting free speech & right to bear arms & have voted in this election.
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Musk spoke and took questions for nearly an hour at the Thursday afternoon event. One of the key points of his remarks came as he spoke about the critical role Pennsylvania will play in the presidential election.
.@elonmusk rallying for Trump in PA: "I can't emphasize enough that Pennsylvania is the lynchpin in this election, and this election will decide the fate of America and Western civilization.
— KanekoaTheGreat (@KanekoaTheGreat) October 17, 2024
The things we want are sensible, common-sense things:
• We want secure borders and… pic.twitter.com/rDo9obirGJ
"I can't emphasize enough that Pennsylvania is, I think, the lynchpin in this election, and this election, I think, is going to decide the fate of America and, along with the fate of America, the fate of Western civilization.
"And I think the things we all want are simple, sensible, I think, common-sense things...
"We obviously want secure borders, and we want safe cities. Sensible spending, so that we don't have crazy inflation. We want freedom of speech. We want the Constitution to be upheld.
"And, you know what, I've been told at times that these are, like, 'right-wing' values. And I'm like, 'Are you insane?'
"Those are literally the fundamental values that made America what it is today.
"And anyone against who's against those things is fundamentally anti-American—and to hell with them."
All I can think to say to that is: Amen.
Clearly, Musk gets it. Let's hope American voters do, too.
The full event may be viewed here. (Musk begins speaking at around the 35:00 mark.)
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 17, 2024
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