Republican Vice Presidential candidate JD Vance touched down at Harrisburg International Airport around noon Saturday.
He was making a loop out to Berks County and back to Hershey as part of a sprawling national tour with an emphasis on swing states.
Vance stopped at Latino-owned King Food Supermarket in Reading, where he criticized the price of groceries under the Biden administration.
“We want our young families to be able to buy food at a reasonable price in the grocery market,” he said.
The Trump and Harris campaigns are clamoring for Latino votes, and nearly 70 percent of Reading is Latino.
At the Berks County fairgrounds, the Ohio senator was cheered by several hundred people decked out in Trump gear.
Chris Gutshall from Reading identifies as a “hardline conservative” and wants someone who shares his values.
“I’m not voting for sainthood,” he said. “I’m voting for someone that governs with conservative policies.”
Gutshall also noted his struggles with the price of groceries.
Glen Weaver from Robesonia said he was umpiring nearby when he heard Vance was in town.
He is a Christian and says he is “not for abortion.”
Trump added three justices to the Supreme Court who helped overturn the federal right to abortion in 2022, and since then, several states have instituted strict restrictions on abortion.
As part of the America Amplified Election 2024 initiative, WITF asked Vance a question submitted by a voter who identifies as right-leaning.
That voter wanted to know how the Trump administration plans to deal with revenue loss resulting from his proposed tax cuts as the national debt surpasses $35 trillion.
Vance compared Trump’s policy to that of Kamala Harris, who, he says, is promising Americans a tax increase.
“You know what Donald Trump’s tax policy is?” he said. “He wants to give hard-working Americans a tax cut, and he wants to penalize corporations that are shipping our jobs overseas, and let’s build and make things right here in America, and reward the companies that do that.”
Trump and Harris both say they would end taxes on tips. However, Trump wants to lower the corporate income tax from 21% to 20%, while Harris wants to raise it to 28%.
Vance said rewarding companies for investing in America can lower the deficit as more people would be working and paying into the system.
Vance also said cracking down on undocumented immigrants would save money currently being paid in what he termed welfare programs. However, for the most part, undocumented immigrants can receive assistance from major benefits programs only on behalf of their children.
The National Immigrant Law Center notes the requirements for a non-US citizen to obtain public benefits are strict and lawful immigrants may not be eligible for some programs.
In a 2024 report, the Republican-led U.S. House Judiciary Committee estimated undocumented immigrants receive $42 billion in benefits.
Tim Walz, the Democratic nominee for Vice President, was also in Pennsylvania Saturday, campaigning at a rally in Bethlehem.
Vance was scheduled to appear with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson at the Giant Center in Hershey Saturday night.