'Scare Tactic Much?': Critics Pounce On Trump Over Bonkers Pennsylvania Claim

Donald Trump warned National Rifle Association members Friday that Democrats would change the name of Pennsylvania if their party wins at the polls in November.

The former president, during an hour-plus speech in Harrisburg, reflected on his election victory in the state back in 2016 before declaring that his 2024 campaign to retake the White House must be victorious.

“Or we’re not going to have Pennsylvania. They’ll change the name,” Trump said. “They’re going to change the name of Pennsylvania.”

Trump also mentioned efforts in the U.S. to reexamine naming things after historical figures, such as schools named for George Washington.

“That’s one even I thought was safe. Abraham Lincoln and George Washington, their names are now in danger,” he said.

Trump’s claim about Pennsylvania comes roughly one month after headlines about the National Park Service’s proposal to remove a statue of William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania, from a park in Philadelphia.

The statue, local news site Billy Penn noted, is a small version of one atop City Hall, which is arguably “the highest profile statue” in Philadelphia and “limited the height of development throughout the city.”

The park service rescinded its proposal following criticism, including from Pennsylvania state Rep. Bryan Cutler (R), who claimed that President Joe Biden and his administration were trying to “cancel” Penn.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) wrote at the the time that he had been in contact with the Biden administration to “correct this decision” over the statue.

“I’m pleased Welcome Park will remain the rightful home of this William Penn statue — right here in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Penn founded,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

Trump’s claim about Pennsylvania led to mockery from online critics, with one social media user saying, “Scare tactic much?”

Conservative attorney George Conway, a frequent Trump critic, jokingly wrote that the former president’s remarks were “perfectly normal.”

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