Carson Swick
ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-Texas) made his third visit of the year to Pennsylvania Wednesday night, aiming to fire up grassroots supporters of former President Donald Trump with a simple message.
“The Biden administration,” Hunt said with a pause, “sucks.”
That quoting of Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) drew laughter from a raucous crowd at Lehigh Valley Tea Party headquarters.
Hunt held two events in Philadelphia last month — as part of the Republican push for African-American voters, which he’s leading — before trekking up to Allentown, a city with notoriously purple suburbs that often decide statewide elections.
The Texas congressman was chosen as the LVTP’s monthly keynote speaker, and Pennsylvania’s significance is not lost on him.
“If President Trump wins Pennsylvania, the election is over,” Hunt told The Post, which had exclusive access to the event. “There’s these states that are really important, but none more important than the Keystone State.”
During his 16-minute speech, Hunt spoke repeatedly about his military background, as he and multiple members of his family attended West Point.
At the academy, Hunt said Civil War-era cannons remain buried to remind cadets of the consequences of Americans killing each other — then proceeded to liken the Democrats’ political tactics to that level of division.
“Unfortunately, the left has dug these cannons up, and they’re aiming them at you. They’re aiming them at President Trump,” Hunt said.
“It’s incumbent upon everyone in this room to rip those cannons out of their hands and put them right back in the ground where they belong, forever.”
Hunt fired more shots at Biden, accusing the president of using his so-called “big boy” press conference from Washington’s NATO Summit as a “campaign speech” rather than serving America’s interests abroad.
Millions of illegal immigrants crossing the US-Mexico border on Biden’s watch have turned even Pennsylvania into a “border state,” he said.
For his Democratic colleagues in the wake of Biden’s rough debate showing two weeks ago, Hunt has a different message: “Stop lying to people. Stop being a coward.”
Those who know the extent of the president’s ongoing decline but have not called on him to step aside are being “intellectually dishonest,” Hunt told The Post.
Hunt also had some choice words about Biden’s running mate.
“Kamala Harris has the worst approval rating of any vice president in the history of this country,” he said.
“And let’s keep in mind something: When Dick Cheney was vice president, he shot somebody! Do you know how hard you have to work to be worse than that?”
(That shooting was, of course, accidental.)
Attendees at LVTP headquarters were not all initially familiar with Hunt but gave the congressman a standing ovation at the end of his speech.
Several were impressed with his dedication to take an Amtrak from Washington, DC, to Philadelphia, then Uber from Philly to Allentown after working a full day in the House of Representatives.
Attendees also asked Hunt questions on issues ranging from illegal immigration to election integrity.