Former President Trump spoke to a few hundred people at a fairgrounds in Westmoreland County on Friday night during a rally centered around attempting to establish him and his allies as the voice of conservatives and the Republican Party.

The rally at the Westmoreland Fairgrounds in Mt. Pleasant Township occurred less than two weeks before Pennsylvania’s primary election on May 17.

Speakers included local Republicans as well as Dr. Mehmet Oz, the television personality and surgeon who was endorsed in April by Trump for U.S. Senate.

Through hours of rain, and in a muddy outdoor venue, speakers stuck to conservative talking points, including gun rights, opposition to abortion and the debunked accusations that the 2020 presidential election was stolen.

When Trump took the stage, he praised Oz and boasted about recent victories of candidates he endorsed in Indiana, Texas and Ohio. He said his endorsed candidates went 55-0 in recent Republican primaries.

“You are going to send Dr. Oz to fight for you in the U.S. Senate,” said Trump. “We have transformed the face of the Republican Party. We are the party of the working people. We are the party of common sense, and we are going to keep fighting.”

After briefly praising Oz, Trump spent 45 minutes talking about various topics. He criticized President Biden’s inflation policies, bragged about his own accomplishments concerning international relations in the Middle East and mocked actor Alec Baldwin.

He also blamed Biden for high gas prices and touted the low gas prices during his presidency.

“With the help of Pennsylvania energy workers, we achieved energy independence,” Trump said. “And I told you they were going to destroy it.”

Trump cast himself as the true leader of the Republican Party throughout the night. He attacked former President George W. Bush, calling him “one of the worst presidents in our lifetime” because “he got us into the Middle East.”

People in the crowd mostly applauded Trump’s speech and his attempts to cast himself as kingmaker in the conservative movement.

• Trump fans flock to Westmoreland Fairgrounds to see former president, hear more about why to vote for Dr. Oz

However, not everyone at the rally was ready to commit to Oz, despite Trump’s praise.

Oz’s speech, which came about an hour before Trump arrived, had some of the quietest applause. Several times, booing could be heard during ads praising Oz and other mentions of Oz, even during Trump’s speech.

Oz has been accused in attack ads throughout the primary of being a phony conservative.

And though he leads in the latest Franklin & Marshall College poll, Oz hasn’t created much distance from his rivals, especially former hedge fund CEO David McCormick and conservative commentator Kathy Barnette. The F&M poll released Wednesday, May 4 has Oz leading with 18% of the vote, while McCormick received 16% and Barnette 12%.

The theme of the night was about being the most conservative. Every speaker that took the stage before Trump, like U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Butler, focused sections of their speeches on deference to Trump.

Kelly claimed that if Trump were president, the country wouldn’t be suffering from inflation, nor would there be a war in Ukraine.

Though Trump was focused on praising his endorsed candidates, those nods aren’t a guarantee of political success.

Trump’s first endorsement in Pennsylvania’s Senate race went to Army veteran and author Sean Parnell, who dropped out after allegations of domestic abuse. Other recently endorsed candidates in Idaho and North Carolina have failed to clear the field in their races.

Regardless, Trump’s endorsement is highly sought after among candidates in Pennsylvania. Terry Madonna, senior fellow in residence for political affairs at Millersville University in Lancaster County, said it still has cachet among conservatives.

“I don’t think there is any doubt he wants to have significant influence within the Republican Party,” Madonna said.

J.D. Vance, Trump’s endorsed candidate for Senate who prevailed Tuesday in his primary in Ohio, spoke before Oz hit the stage. He defended Oz, who has been hit by a bevy of attack ads accusing him of being a RINO (Republican in name only) and criticizing him for his past support for gun control and his connections to Hollywood.

“The fake news media will say, ‘Well, Donald Trump’s endorsement doesn’t matter,’ ” Vance said. “We need to support the candidates that are endorsed by Donald Trump. That is why I am here.”

Several local Republican Party county chairs in Pennsylvania signed a letter that said they don’t support Oz. During debates, Oz has been attacked the most of any candidate.

McCormick and his aligned political groups have spent millions of dollars attacking Oz in ads.

Oz acknowledged his critics during his speech and tried to paint himself as anti-establishment. He mentioned Trump’s endorsement and claimed he received it over McCormick because of McCormick’s ties to China.

Even though he leads in the latest poll, Oz portrayed himself as the underdog and the victim of attacks from “the establishment.”

“Insiders are the establishment, and they hate us,” Oz said. “That is why they go after us. They want to destroy us.”

About an hour into his speech, Trump attempted again to persuade his fans to support Oz and said he doesn’t always endorse conventional candidates. Trump said his endorsement helps to boost candidates and claimed his backing helped push Vance over the top in Ohio.

“We can always count on Dr. Oz to stand up for our country and against communist China,” Trump said.

Trump also attacked McCormick, calling him a “liberal Wall Street Republican.” He said McCormick might be a nice guy, but he is “not MAGA.”

Trump sought to contrast himself against other wings of the Republican Party and criticized Republican Sens. Pat Toomey and Mitch McConnell. He said McCormick is in the same camp as Toomey and McConnell and not the “America First” wing of conservatives that he represents.

“I knew (McCormick) wanted my endorsement very badly, but I couldn’t do it,” Trump said.

But by the time Trump started to praise Oz and tear down McCormick, a lot of the energy from the crowd had dissipated. About an hour into his speech, several groups of rally-goers could be seen walking out of the fairgrounds.

After he had talked for more than 90 minutes, but not before his speech had ended, about two-thirds of the crowd had left.

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