Cavalcante, 34, had been sentenced to life in prison for stabbing his former girlfriend dozens of times in front of her two children in 2021.

Trump said that Cavalcante’s presence in the United States was an example of Biden’s failed immigration policies and said he would secure the nation’s borders.

After speaking for nearly one hour, Trump ended his rally with another local reference, this one to George Washington’s encampment at Valley Forge. He said that a nation that had “lost its way” will “soon be a great nation again.”

Biden, who has been averaging nearly a trip a month to Pennsylvania, plans to visit Democratic strongholds in his native Scranton and the Pittsburgh and Philadelphia regions for three days staring on Tuesday.

Before Trump’s arrival at the club in Lower Bucks, a caravan of Biden supporters looped around the club and the office of U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa. However, the road leading to the club entrance, which was lined with Trump supporters, was closed to traffic so the two groups did not have an opportunity to interact.

Pennsylvania Democrats hold about a six-percentage-point registration advantage over Republicans, according to the most recently available state data, but about 15% are registered as unaffiliated or “other.”

Biden and Trump have polled extremely closely in state surveys, with the most recent Franklin and Marshall poll showing Biden with a two-point lead, which was within the poll’s margin of error.

Bucks County is a battleground within the battleground, with nearly 475,000 registrants — the fourth-highest total in the state — with Democrat/Republican totals split almost evenly. It is the Philadelphia region’s only purple county.

The Newtown fundraiser was hosted by several longtime GOP donors, including Jim Worthington, owner of an athletic club who defied COVID-19 closures in 2020.

Sylvia Johnson, 84, a Bucks County local who attended the fundraiser, said Trump spoke for about an hour. ”The feeling in the room was the warmth toward him,” she said. “We just love him. It’s something he has that no other politician has.”

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