PENNSYLVANIA — Earlier today, ahead of President Trump’s visit to Old Forge, U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti and locals from northeastern Pennsylvania hosted a virtual press conference to highlight how the Trump Administration’s broken promises have impacted families in the region. The group also discussed how Vice President Joe Biden’s Scranton roots and commitment to working people make him the best candidate to rebuild our nation.
A recording of the virtual press conference can be found here and an audio clip is available here. Check out some of the highlights below:
U.S. Senator Bob Casey:
“Joe Biden has the values and the spirit of the people of Scranton in his heart. It’s very evident from his record. It’s very evident, you can see it in his Build Back Better economic plan, which reflects those values. Donald Trump doesn’t know the first thing about Scranton, about Lackawanna county or anywhere in northeastern Pennsylvania — doesn’t know a thing.
He doesn’t relate to us. He doesn’t share our values….I always like when a president visits Pennsylvania, but I am certain — I’m as certain as my own name — that today he’ll smear Joe Biden.
And you will not hear an economic plan to get the unemployment rate in Lackawanna county down… and you’re not going to hear a plan for the virus. Because here we are months after the virus hit our shores and there’s no plan from this administration. No plan on testing, no plan to make sure that we’re making our own personal protective equipment and get it to anyone who needs it.”
Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti:
“We’re here this morning because all eyes are on Pennsylvania and especially Scranton today, as Joe Biden, [our] hometown kid accepts the nomination for president and as Donald Trump visits our neighbors over in old forge to make the case for his reelection.
This evening’s events lay bare the contrast we have coming up in this election. In Donald Trump, we have a president who has failed to take meaningful action to address the worst public health and economic crisis in generations, who has been working to undermine the Affordable Care Act and vital earned benefits like Medicare and Social Security, and who has repeatedly sided with his donors and corporations over workers and their families.
When you watch Joe Biden tonight, you’ll see the opposite…Joe Biden genuinely cares about places like Scranton and the working families that live here. He grew up here. The connection to Scranton is real. [He has] family here, he still has friends here. He has not forgotten his roots. He has not forgotten the people of Scranton or the values he learned growing up here. As I said, when I endorsed Vice President Biden, I can’t think of anyone I’d rather see in the White House.”
Dan Skok, West Wyoming Borough:
“Thank you for the opportunity to express to you my personal and my family’s [experience] as a result of the Trump administration — in particular on jobs and the coronavirus. All of us have been affected by the coronavirus one way or the other some more, some less.
The handling of it or the mishandling of it is the better term to use for — it really irritates me. I lost my wife at the end of April and during that time, she did not have coronavirus, but it was an immediate serious critical situation… but I was denied the ride in the ambulance with her. I was denied the opportunity to see her in the emergency room, I was denied the opportunity to give her a chance to say her last words to me.
Now, Mr. President, you just lost your younger brother. And I feel very bad because I can relate to that. But I’m telling you, you went to that hospital and you were able to visit him. I wasn’t. I didn’t get those last words from my wife.”
Tara Hunt-Fiorillo, Dunmore:
“At the age of 25, I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis…For the past 23 years, MS has taken a toll on my body and life in so many ways…When the Affordable Care Act became law under Barack Obama and Joe Biden in 2010, I could no longer be denied coverage or charged more for coverage, simply because I had a pre-existing health condition. It was a huge relief.
Donald Trump and the Republicans in Washington like to talk about protecting people like myself with pre-existing conditions. But their record demonstrates just the opposite. They have repeatedly tried to repeal the Affordable Care Act without any replacement plan in place…
Thankfully, we have an opportunity in the November election to vote for leaders like Joe Biden, who will protect our care. Both Biden and [State Rep.] Kozlowski have seen firsthand how important these matters are to people — not just nameless, faceless numbers on a balance sheet. Both of these lawmakers have seen the heartbreaking realities a medical diagnosis can have on the entire lives of patients and their families.”
Willie Smith, Scranton:
“Joe Biden is a loving person — he’s understanding and he’s just an ordinary person. You can talk to him, anyone can talk to him. And surely, he has my vote and my wife’s vote. My wife just became a U.S. citizen and she’s been watching the things that Donald Trump has been doing and all the lies that [he’s] been telling…
I’m voting for Joe Biden [because] I know he’s going in and he’s going to do what he says he’s going to do. He’s not gonna go in and tell lies… And he is the person that’s looking out for the poor, and the middle-class, and working-class — I’d just say everyone. I’m looking for him to come with good policies that are going to help everyone — from the smallest person to the biggest person.
And, you know, Donald Trump just spreads lies about everything trying to keep chaos going between everyone and divide this nation. We don’t need no one in office that’s going to divide this country more than Donald Trump has done. And I know Joe Biden will not do that. And I have talked to Joe Biden and Joe Biden has the character that people want.”
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