As many of you did, I watched the presidential rally last week in the Wilkes-Barre area as Donald Trump stumped for Republican U.S. Senate candidate Lou Barletta of Hazleton.

Barletta is trying to unseat two-term incumbent Bob Casey Jr. of Scranton. Barletta, a longtime Trump supporter, got four minutes of national airtime during the rally and frequent mentions and atta-boys from the president during the more than hourlong rally.

I have watched similar rallies in other parts of the country, and the president’s refrain was pretty much the same — butter up the people of the state and/or region where he is speaking, point out all of the accomplishments he and his administration have made during his 19 months in office, bash the news media accusing them of broadcasting and publishing “fake news” and for not giving him credit for the “great things we are doing” and belittle the opponent of the candidate on behalf of whom he is making the appearance (in this case it was “Sleeping Bob”).

The Wilkes-Barre appearance followed the same template. As I watched, I was conflicted as to whether I was watching Trump the president or Trump the political cheerleader to secure more seats in Congress and state houses for those candidates who see eye-to-eye with him. Or maybe both.

The Washington Post, one of the prime targets of Trump’s “fake news” assertions, has made it a point to catalog Trump’s false or misleading claims since he took office on Jan. 20, 2017. From then until July 31, the number had risen to 4,229. This does not include those made at the Wilkes-Barre rally.

Using the Fact-Checker database, Trump is alleged to have made 976 false or misleading claims in June and July alone, indicating that the number is growing significantly. During the president’s first 100 days, he averaged 4.9 of these unsubstantiated claims a day; now, he is averaging 7.6 a day.

Nearly a third of his claims involve economic issues, trade deals or jobs, according to Fact Checker. At a recent rally in Montana, more than three-quarters of what Trump said was not supported by evidence available in the public domain.

At the Wilkes-Barre rally, Trump pointed to his tariffs as being the catalyst for persuading U.S. Steel Corp. to open a half-dozen new plants. Meghan Cox, a U.S. Steel spokeswoman, said there are no such plans, according to The Associated Press.

Trump said Casey refused to meet with Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, but Casey said that although he will not vote in favor of confirming Kavanaugh, he does plan to meet with him.

Trump said Casey wants to “fire the incredible men and women of ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement)” and wants to abolish ICE. Casey said he does not support abolishing ICE but believes it needs to refocus its mission.

Trump said Casey was making it “absolutely impossible for (coal) miners,” when, in fact, it was Casey who pushed to secure pension and health care benefits for retired miners as these benefits were on the verge of expiring. The United Mine Workers union is supporting Casey’s re-election bid.

After Trump mentioned one of his favorite whipping boys — CNN — the crowd picked up the cue and started pointing, booing and chanting “CNN sucks” at the media stationed in the back of the spacious Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza (named for Casey’s father, Robert P. Casey Sr., the former Pennsylvania governor).

I spoke to several all-in Trump followers and asked why their support has not wavered despite the misstatements and all of the other controversy surrounding Trump’s presidency.

“Sure, he makes some statements that make me cringe,” said a retired Plains Township auto dealership owner who grew up in Carbon County, “but, overall, he is doing a great job. He is doing what he promised us that he would do. You birds in the news media need to cut him some slack. All you do is look for him to say something that will make him look bad, but you never praise him for the good he is doing such as the economy and his stand on immigration.”

By Bruce Frassinelli | tneditor@tnonline.com