In Scranton, Trump predicts 'a great victory'

SCRANTON - Donald Trump made this corner of the state one of his first campaign stops after capturing the Republican presidential nomination this summer. And on Monday, he made it one of the last, aiming to do something no GOP presidential candidate has done in decades: win Pennsylvania.

"They say we're tied in Pennsylvania. I don't think so," Trump told about 5,000 supporters cramming the gym at the student union at Lackawanna College. "I think we're going to blow them out tomorrow."

The Scranton stop was the nominee's second of the day in Pennsylvania - the first came in Erie - on a day when he scrambled to five states in a last-minute bid to lock down votes before Tuesday's election. He arrived shortly before his rival, Democrat Hillary Clinton, gathered with thousands of her own supporters in Philadelphia, as both camps sought to spark enthusiasm in a state considered key to victory.

After Scranton, Trump was due in Manchester, N.H., and then planned to end the night in Grand Rapids, Mich.

"We're going to have a great victory tomorrow," he predicted.

In his nearly 40-minute speech, Trump touched on his signature promises: build a wall, keep out Syrian refugees, stop illegal immigration, bring back jobs, rebuild cities, cut middle-class taxes, grow the military.

He said if he is elected, the country will have "the biggest tax cut since Ronald Reagan" within his first 100 days in office. He also promised to protect Social Security and Medicare, eliminate "every unnecessary job-killing regulation," take care of veterans, "protect your religious liberty," protect school choice and end Common Core, appoint justices to the U.S. Supreme Court who will uphold the Constitution, and "save our Second Amendment, which is under siege."

He also seemed to try to tailor the message to his audience, pledging "a new future for Philadelphia's Navy shipyard," which is almost three hours to the south.

And in a not-so-veiled nod to the on-again, off-again FBI probe of Clinton emails, Trump asserted his opponent was "being protected by a rigged system" and should not be allowed to run for president.

"It's up to the American people to deliver justice - at the ballot box tomorrow," Trump said.

Later, he added, "We are just one day away from the change you've been waiting for, for your entire life."

Rewarding him at times with deafening roars, the crowd was textbook Trump: Men, women, and children in hats proclaiming "Make America Great Again," and toting signs that said "Trump Pence" and "Women for Trump." Waiting for their nominee, the crowd erupted in sporadic chants of "U-S-A," "Build the wall!" and "Lock her up!"

"He fills up every place he goes to," said Dan Dwyer, 56, who drove from Lehigh County to attend his fourth Trump rally.

Dwyer, who lives in Macungie and owns an air-duct cleaning business, said he's a registered Democrat who voted for President Obama in 2008.

But, "we need a change in our government so desperately," Dwyer said. "When I saw Donald Trump, I said, 'He's it. That's the man right there.' "

Jeanine Smith, a 44-year-old registered nurse, drove from her home in Mullica Township, N.J., with her daughter and son and her daughter's best friend. "We took a Trump day," she said, adding she cannot wait to vote and plans to drive her sister and nephew to the polls.

"It's been too long that the people haven't had someone looking out for them," she said. "We really need to clean up Washington and take back our country."

Emily Rivera, 15, Smith's daughter's best friend, said she constantly checked Trump's website and found Monday's event in Scranton. She's sure Trump will make the country better.

"He's not scared to do anything," Rivera said.

Trump ended his rally Monday night by reminiscing about entering the presidential race on June 16 of last year and then defeating his opponents "one by one by one by one."

"Now," he said, "we have one flawed candidate to beat."

mbond@philly.com

610-313-8207 @MichaelleBond