Republican Vice Presidential Candidate Mike Pence focused on three key issues at a rally in Westmoreland County on Tuesday: security at home and abroad, growing the economy and U.S. Supreme Court nominations.
The Indiana governor graced the Westmoreland Community College mid-afternoon amid crowds of more than 800 people chanting “lock her up” and “drain the swamp.”
Pence said people should vote for Donald Trump “if you cherish our constitution, if you cherish the Second Amendment, the right to keep and bear arms, if you cherish the sanctity of life and all the God-given liberties enshrined in our Bill of Rights.”
Pence blamed President Obama and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton for increased chaos in the Middle East, saying they squandered the gains made by the Bush administration.
"I'm a Christian, a Conservative and a Republican - in that order," says Republican candidate for Vice-President Mike Pence.
— Donald Gilliland (@drgilliland) November 1, 2016
He vowed that he and Trump would rebuild the nation’s military.
“We will provide our soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines with the resources and training they need to accomplish their mission and we will hunt down and destroy ISIS at its source so it can no longer threaten our allies or inspire violence in our homeland,” he said.
On the domestic front, Pence criticized Hillary Clinton for discussing institutional racism in response to police shootings of black men. He called law enforcement a force for good and “the best of us.”
He said a Trump administration would pursue an “all of the above” energy policy, including oil, natural gas and coal.
“Donald Trump and I believe that among the God-given blessings of this nation are our vast natural resources, so on day one of a Trump-Pence administration, the war on coal comes to an end,” he said.
He also vowed to repeal the Affordable Care Act “on day one” and replace it with a system driven by free-market capitalism.
Pence, who has repeatedly referred to himself as “a Christian, a conservative and a Republican, in that order,” invoked God and faith several times during his 45-minute speech.
He asked supporters to pray for a Trump victory and to have faith that the American people will elect Donald Trump as President on November 8.
