Trump supporters find unlikely common ground with blue state congressman at town hall: 'I love it'
ALLENTOWN, PA – President Donald Trump supporters and Americans for Prosperity (AFP) protesters lined the streets outside Democrat Rep. Ro Khanna's town hall in the battleground state of Pennsylvania on Saturday night.
However, three pro-Trump protesters who wandered inside the half-empty town hall found unlikely common ground with the Silicon Valley Democrat, who is considered a potential 2028 presidential candidate.
Before taking the stage for his remarks, Khanna listened to the Trump supporters' concerns and told them about the legislation he proposed last week to codify Trump's executive order aimed at lowering prescription drug prices.
Khanna has secured three co-sponsors for his bill, including GOP Reps. Paulina Luna and Andy Biggs.
While some Democrat attendees looked on disapprovingly at the polite political debate breaking out at the back of the town hall, Khanna encouraged the Trump supporters to pull up a seat and stick around for his remarks. The Trump supporters did just that.
"I love it," Khanna told Fox News Digital ahead of his speech. "I love the First Amendment. They're peaceful. I walked by them. They were very civil. That's democracy, and they're welcome to come in."
When Khanna took the stage, he thanked the Trump supporters for their conversation and spotlighted how Americans can find common ground on lowering prescription drug prices amid persistent political violence in the United States.
Khanna said he was appreciative of the conversation in light of a terrorist attack on a fertility clinic in California earlier that day, the arson attack on Gov. Josh Shapiro's home last month and the assassination attempt on Trump in Pennsylvania last year.
Khanna's Allentown event was the first of two "Benefits Over Billionaires" town halls hosted in Republican-held congressional districts in swing state Pennsylvania this weekend. While Khanna was a long way from his home district, he was born in Philadelphia and grew up in Bucks County.
Republican Reps. Ryan Mackenzie and Brian Fitzpatrick, both likely to face competitive challenges to hold their House seats in 2026, represent the Lehigh Valley and Bucks County districts Khanna visited this weekend.
"He should be back home in his own district doing a town hall with his constituents, but I think he's campaigning for president most likely, so he's trying to get his name ID out there all across the country," Mackenzie told Fox News Digital before knocking on doors with AFP on Saturday.
Mackenzie accused Khanna of "going around, mugging for the cameras, trying to get clicks on social media and trying to boost [his] own profile," as he defended his own accessibility to his Pennsylvania constituents.
However, Khanna deflected Mackenzie's accusation about posturing for a political future when pressed by Fox News Digital.
"This is about saving the jobs at the Mack plant. This is about making sure we don't cut Medicaid. This is about making sure people aren't getting hurt in this community and around the country," Khanna said.
Democrats have railed against proposed Medicaid reform as a key component of Trump's "big, beautiful bill," but Mackenzie said his constituents are more concerned about eliminating waste, fraud and abuse from the program.
The California congressman, who spoke with members of the United Auto Workers union ahead of his town hall, called on Mackenzie and Trump to save at least 250 Pennsylvanians' jobs at Mack Trucks in the Lehigh Valley.
"The president's trying to bring back manufacturing. How about we just stop manufacturing from leaving? We need action here, and I wanted to highlight that," Khanna said, explaining his trip to Mackenzie's district.
While Khanna took aim at Mackenzie for the Mack Truck layoffs, an AFP digital ad truck outside the event spotlighted Mackenzie's support for extending Trump's 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act as activists doubled down on support for their elected Republican leaders.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Times
10 minutes ago
- New York Times
World Cup Athletes Are Among the Exceptions to Trump's New Travel Ban
President Trump signed a travel ban on Wednesday that prohibits citizens of 12 countries from entering the United States. The primarily targets nations in Africa and the Middle East. The ban, which goes into effect on Monday, bars travel to the United States by citizens of Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. And it limits travel from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela. But there were some exceptions to the expansive order: Green card holders People with green cards — individuals who have a pathway to U.S. citizenship — are exempted from the ban. When a travel ban was introduced by Mr. Trump during his first term in 2017, chaos and confusion ensued at airports. The Department of Homeland Security had to put out a statement clarifying that green card holders could enter the country. This time, the administration is making that exemption clear in the order itself. Dual citizens People who are American citizens but also hold citizenship with a banned country will not be effected by the order. Those who seek visas through connections to an American family member Immigrants from the banned countries who seek visas through connections to their spouses, children, or parents who are American citizens will still be able to apply for them. Certain athletes Athletes and coaches traveling to the United States to play in major sporting events, along with their families, will still be allowed into the country, despite the ban. The United States is one of the hosts of the World Cup in 2026, and Los Angeles is the site of the Summer Olympics in 2028. This exception will allow soccer players from targeted countries, like Iran, to enter the United States for the World Cup. Refugees granted asylum Those who have been admitted as refugees or were granted asylum are exempted under the order. Afghans who helped the U.S. The order exempts Afghans who seek to enter the U.S. under a special visa program for those helped the U.S. government during the two decades of war after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. Iranians fleeing religious persecution Iranians who are escaping the country because they belong to a religious minority, like Christianity, are also exempted.
Bloomberg
22 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
Vietnam Says It Is Responding to US Demands With ‘Goodwill'
Vietnam said it is responding to US demands with 'goodwill' as it seeks to address the Trump administration's concerns over the Southeast Asian country's trade gap with the US and avoid crippling duties. Vietnam's Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien replied to US concerns in documents submitted to the US, and held talks with Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in Paris, according to a post on the Vietnam trade ministry's website. Dien also raised trade concerns of Vietnam, it said.
UPI
25 minutes ago
- UPI
Trump suspends visas for new Harvard international students
In addition to suspending visas for new Harvard students, President Donald Trump said the State Department could choose to revoke existing student visas at the school. File Photo by CJ Gunther/EPA-EFE June 4 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump on Wednesday ordered a suspension of international visas for new students seeking to attend Harvard University, accusing the school of failing to report "known illegal activity" carried out by its students. In a proclamation, Trump said the suspension applies only to new nonimmigrant students who travel to the United States solely or primarily to attend the Massachusetts university. International students are allowed to enter the country to attend U.S. schools under the Student Exchange Visa Program. Trump also gave Secretary of State Marco Rubio the authority to determine whether existing Harvard students in the country on visas should have theirs revoked. Citing an increase in crime on the campus -- which was also reported by The Harvard Crimson in 2023 -- Trump said Harvard has failed in disciplinary actions. He said the school reported misconduct by three foreign students and provided "deficient" data on those incidents. "Harvard's actions show that it either is not fully reporting its disciplinary records for foreign students or is not seriously policing its foreign students," Trump said. The proclamation is the Trump administration's latest of multiple attempts to block the Ivy League school from enrolling foreign students. He has taken issue with students' anti-Israel protests over the war in Gaza. A spokesperson for the university told NBC News it planned to fight the administration's order. "This is yet another illegal retaliatory step taken by the administration in violation of Harvard's First Amendment rights," the spokesperson said. In May, U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs blocked the Trump administration's attempt to deny Harvard to admit international students. At the time Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem canceled the school's SEVP certification. "The administration is holding Harvard accountable for fostering violence, antisemitism and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party on its campus," Noem said.
