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WILKES-BARRE — U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta had a dentist’s appointment Wednesday, so it should be even easier to notice Barletta smiling in the crowd at Friday’s inauguration of Donald Trump as the country’s 45th president.
After a long journey that began with an early endorsement of Trump and ended with a decisive victory in November, Barletta will be smiling ear to ear as his candidate takes the oath of office.
“This is very personally satisfying for me, especially since when I did endorse him, he had a less than 1 percent chance of winning,” Barletta said Wednesday. “And fast-forwarding to Friday, I have this tremendous feeling of gratification, not only because I endorsed him, but because I played a small role in his victory.”
Barletta, R-Hazleton, along with U.S. Rep. Tom Marino, R-Lycoming Township, served as co-chairman of Trump’s Pennsylvania campaign. Trump won Pennsylvania en route to defeating Democratic challenger Hillary Clinton. Trump did exceptionally well in Northeastern Pennsylvania, especially in Luzerne County, where Democrats hold a decided edge in voter registrations. Trump received 26,000 more votes than Clinton in Luzerne County.
Barletta said he never wavered in his support of Trump along what sometimes was a bumpy road to the White House.
“Democrats were against him, the national media for the most part was against him and even members of his own (Republican) party were against him,” Barletta said. “I was offended how our party kept fighting against Trump.”
But then there were the rallies attended by thousands of Trump supporters. It was happening in every state, wherever Trump would appear. It happened in Wilkes-Barre on two occasions. Trump supporters filled the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza twice — more than 11,000 people inside and thousands more outside.
“You could see the movement happening,” Barletta said. “The crowds inside the arena were huge, but outside, thousands couldn’t get in, but they didn’t go home. They stayed in support of Trump. We knew all the polls were wrong and that Trump was leading the race.”
Barletta said he and Trump talked about Pennsylvania and how important it was that he win the Keystone State. Barletta said Trump’s people were telling him that he couldn’t win Pennsylvania and he should pull out and concentrate on other areas.
“After the election, he thanked me for offering him correct advice,” Barletta said. “I told him many times to not give up in Pennsylvania. I told him he would win Pennsylvania and that ended up to be correct.”
Barletta said he was concerned leading up to the Pennsylvania Primary in April because voters did not know which delegate candidates were supporting Trump. The Democratic delegate candidates were listed on the ballot with their presidential candidate next to their name. Not so on the GOP side. Barletta said he helped the Trump campaign deal with the problem by identifying the Trump delegate candidates and having slate cards prepared listing their names. Trump went on to easily win the primary.
More than a year ago, when Barletta decided to endorse Trump, the fourth-term congressman from Hazleton said his colleagues in Congress laughed at him and snickered, making fun of Barletta for who he endorsed.
“I guess I have the last laugh now,” he said.
And it was Pennsylvania that played a key role in Trump’s victory, and Luzerne County is being credited for giving Trump a large number of votes to take the state.
“I kept telling him that he would get big numbers here and in Pennsylvania,” Barletta said.
Barletta said it was Trump’s stance on illegal immigration that first drew him to the billionaire mogul.
“When he first stood up and talked about building a wall, it reminded me what happened to me in Hazleton,” Barletta said. “And Trump never backed down — he dug in. I admired that because nobody ever ran for president and took that position.”
Barletta said the more he looked at Trump and listened to what he was saying, the more he liked.
“It seemed that what he was saying was what I was thinking,” Barletta said. “And I would tell people in Washington that I was starting to like Trump and his approach.”
When Barletta said how the Washington establishment — Democrat and Republicans — were trying to defeat Trump, the more determined Barletta became.
“I realized this is what is wrong with our country,” Barletta said. “I felt Trump would turn the tables. I really believed then and I believe it today that Donald Trump is the right man for the country at this time.”
Barletta and Marino endorsed him early, along with fellow U.S. Reps. Chris Collins of New York and Duncan Hunter of California.
“When we first me, we could have held our meetings in a phone booth,” Barletta said. “But Trump’s support grew from there, and it kept growing.”
Barletta said he will enjoy Friday’s inauguration. He said he likes that Trump has said he will attend only two Inaugural Balls, saying that there are just too many of them. Trump has said he will keep his speech short and he even asked that the parade be shortened as well.
“I can’t wait to watch this transition of power,” Barletta said. “He has said this election is about the people, not him. He said it’s time to get to work.”
Barletta said the people need to “just give Trump a chance,” and they will see he will fix the problems in Washington.
“Washington has done nothing to fix the problems of Medicare, Social Security and health care,” Barletta said. “Trump will go in there to fix the problems and that should give the people hope, not fear. Those who are not willing to even give him a chance is disheartening. Just give him a chance.”
