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HANOVER TWP. — MSNBC’s Chris Matthews came to Luzerne County Thursday to try to find out why the predominately Democratic county went so strong for Republican Donald Trump in 2016.
Instead, Matthews found out why some of the county’s hardcore Democrats dislike the president.
During a one-hour live broadcast of his show, “Hardball,” Matthews was hoping to fill the room with equal parts Trump lovers and Trump haters. As it turned out, the room at A. Rifkin Co. on the Sans Souci Highway was filled with more than 200 people who likely voted against Trump in 2016 and will do so again in 2020.
Before the show began, Matthews came out and polled the audience, asking them how many of them voted for Trump in 2016. Only a few clapped in support of the president.
“That’s not what’s it’s supposed to be?” Matthews said.
Faced with a room filled with Democratic supporters, Matthews plugged on, with a guestpanel balanced between Trump supporters and those who can’t wait to vote the president out in 2020.
Matthews opened the live show with this:
“With the first presidential debate about one month away in Miami, I’m proud to say that the national conversation begins tonight right here in Northeastern Pennsylvania. The Democratic candidates and Donald Trump should be watching. History shows that the people in this room are the deciders. If you want to win, you have to win here in Pennsylvania.”
Matthews said he wanted to come to Luzerne County for a long time. He said the numbers for Trump here “were amazing.”
“On Election Night 2016, we all were wondering what was going on,” he said. “Hillary lost Pennsylvania? What did we miss? What weren’t we listening to? Tonight is your chance to be heard. But your voice is really heard when you vote.”
Matthews went on to ask the crowd several questions”
• Did you hate Hillary (Clinton)?
• Were you hoping this guy who made a lot of money would do what traditional politicians couldn’t?
• Did you feel Washington was having a party that you weren’t invited to?
• Did Washington forget about the bread and butter issues important to you?
• Did Trump sound better?
All the questions received resounding boos and no’s.
The first three segments of the live broadcast featured three-member panels consisting of Northeastern Pennsylvania residents. And the groups were fairly representative of Trump lovers and Trump haters.
As expected, with the deck stacked so decidedly in the Democrats’ favor, those speaking against Trump and his polices were loudly cheered and those for Trump were booed.
Including former U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta, who lost in 2018 to Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Casey after serving in Congress for 10 years. Each time Barletta was given the opportunity by Matthews to defend Trump’s policies and the GOP’s side of issues, he was shouted down with “boo,” not the once familiar “Lou.”
Sitting next to Barletta was Tom Perez, chairman of the Democratic National Committee. Whenever Perez spoke, he was, not surprisingly, cheered.
Show highlights
Vito DeLuca, who lost to Luzerne County Stefanie Salavantis, said he voted for Barack Obama in 2012 and for Trump in 2016.
“I favored Trump because he wasn’t a Washington insider,” DeLuca said, noting that he didn’t agree with a lot of what Trump stood for. “I thought Trump would bring a different approach to government since he had not been part of the old process.”
Donna Shannon said despite the current low unemployment rate of 3.9 percent, there still aren’t a lot of new jobs that pay family sustaining wages. Matthews noted that unemployment in the region was 5.4 percent when Trump took office.
Rob Bresahan said the Democrats need a candidate more to the center, than far left. Asked if Trump ever makes him wince, Bresnahan replied, “All the time.”
Lynette Villano, a former Luzerne County GOP chair, defended Trump, saying he was a businessman not a politician. The same reaction came when Barletta said, “I trust President Trump.”
“I’m proud to be an American with President Trump,” she said, getting loudly booed.
Some people felt neither side of the political aisle in Congress is serving the people well.
Other issues discussed included illegal immigration and building “The Wall,” whether jobs and the economy are more important than social issues, abortion, how people need help with student loan debt, how veterans need to be taken care of, whether a national health care program is needed, whether tougher gun laws are favored.
They also discussed infrastructure, prompting Matthews to offer a comment on Pennsylvania’s roads.
“I drove here from New York,” he said. “Let’s face it, there were a few bumps.”
Matthews noted that Congress has not been able to hammer out a new $2 trillion infrastructure bill.
Epilogue
So did Matthews get what he came here for? Barletta said the room was supposed to be 50-50 — for and against Trump. Instead, it was about 99 percent anti-Trump.
“I am sure that the group there was not representative of how Luzerne County feels about President Trump,” Barletta said. “I’m glad I was there to at last try to defend the president and his policies. But I don’t think any of the Democrats in that room voted for Trump in 2016.”
Matthews said he was hoping to find out why Luzerne County, which historically voted Democratic in presidential elections, went so strong for Republican Trump in 2016.
That answer never came out.
