ERIE, Pa. _ Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus introduced Donald Trump at a rally here Friday, signaling some party unity after a tumultuous week for the GOP presidential nominee's campaign.
At least 8,000 people turned out at the Erie Convention Center as Trump revisited familiar themes and focused some of his remarks on job losses in Erie. In November, GE Transportation laid off a third of its 4,500 Erie workers, some of whose jobs were relocated to a nonunion facility in Texas.
"You know why they're cutting back? ... Because we don't take care of our miners, and we're not producing coal, and they don't need to make those big, big beautiful _ you could call them locomotives, I guess," he said. "Whatever the hell they are, they're big and they're powerful, and they don't need them like they used to, because we don't make our government work for us."
Security tossed a handful of protesters out of the arena, some holding signs reading "TAX FORMS," hours after Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton released her 2015 tax return. The Pennsylvania Democratic Party on Friday called on her GOP counterpart to do the same, but Trump has so far refused, saying he's under audit by the IRS.
"Donald Trump has no excuse for hiding his tax returns. Pennsylvanians deserve answers," party spokesman Brandon Cwalina said in a press release. "What is Donald Trump hiding in his tax returns? Has he paid anything in taxes? Is he lying about his wealth? Is his income really as 'huuuuge' as he says it is? The American people have a lot of questions, but so far, Donald Trump hasn't come through with any answers."
Also at the rally, Trump doubled-down on a tweet from Friday morning in which he said his recent remarks calling President Barack Obama the "founder" of the Islamic State were sarcastic _ and then suggested there was some truth to it.
"Obviously I'm being sarcastic _ but not that sarcastic to be honest with you," he said.
Outside the arena before the rally, Trump supporters waiting in line far outnumbered those protesting the event. Among those was 26-year-old Mary Gamble, who held up a "Never Trump" sign with the candidate's face, painted by her brother.
"This is my hometown, and I don't feel comfortable having this kind of bigotry here," she said.
J.R. Glover, one in a trio of 16-year-old boys from nearby Waterford, called Trump "awesome" and said he wanted to volunteer to build the border wall with Mexico that the candidate has proposed. His cousin, Clayton, said the group is passionate about politics, even two years shy of the voting age.
"It's gonna be affecting us all soon," he said.
From Erie, Trump was scheduled to travel to Altoona for an evening rally.
