DV Journal

An emotional U.S. Rep. Madeleine Dean told a packed crowd at the Montco Cultural Center in Blue Bell they are right to worry that President Donald Trump may impose martial law and said she is personally afraid she could be “disappeared” by the administration.

The seven-term Democrat wiped away tears as she took the stage Thursday night to address more than 500 people at the town hall event, where questions centered around an alleged threat to U.S. democracy posed by Trump. Dean said Trump’s actions “are worthy of impeachment.”

Dean said it was her “solemn honor” to be an impeachment manager at Trump’s second impeachment. And if Democrats retake the House next year, another impeachment could be in store. “He is certainly guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors,” Dean said.

Dean wasn’t the only emotional participant in the town hall. More than one questioner appeared to border on the hysterical, suggesting Trump was preparing to declare himself a dictator.

“People text me in a panic: ‘Is it possible he’s going to declare martial law and avoid another election, cancel an election?’ I didn’t used to be like this. He will do anything. Of course, he will,” Dean said. “Will he try to run for a third term and stay in office? Of course he will.”

Asked about illegal immigrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was recently sent to an El Salvador prison by the Trump administration, Dean said what happened to the alleged MS-13 gang member could happen to any American citizen.

“That man was disappeared from his child. In front of his child, he was disappeared,” Dean said of Abrego Garcia. “You saw the way they treated those men. Without humanity. Shaving their heads. Making them look like they are less than human. Disappearing them.”

“It makes me so damn mad,” Dean added. “Any one of us can be disappeared. My son has a lot of tattoos. One of them is a crown. He might be disappeared. I have a tattoo. My son and I could be disappeared. You just don’t know who might judge you with extraordinary powers and disappear you,” Dean told the crowd.

Dean went out of her way to praise U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) for going to El Salvador to meet with Garcia, and she promised to visit the detained man herself.

“I’m so damn proud of Van Hollen. And we members of the House will go. We’ve asked for a trip,” Dean said, though she acknowledged House leadership would not approve an official congressional delegation trip funded by taxpayers.

“We’re just going to go on our own.”

Dean has been a staunch opponent of increased immigration enforcement, voting against withholding federal funds from sanctuary cities and against the Laken Riley Act, which requires any illegal immigrant who commits burglary, larceny, shoplifting, or theft to be detained.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem says Garcia is a “violent criminal illegal alien” who belongs behind bars and off American soil.”

“This was just one of those examples of an individual that is a MS-13 gang member, multiple charges and encounters with the individuals here, trafficking in his background, was found with other MS-13 gang members—very dangerous person, and what the liberal left and fake news are doing to turn him into a media darling is sickening,” Noem said.

Homeland Security also alleges Garcia was arrested with drugs and rolls of cash with two other MS-13 members. Previously, two judges found he was a member of that gang, and DHS reports show he was involved in human trafficking. Also, his wife had obtained a protection-from-abuse order against him. She claimed he punched her, scratched her, and ripped off her shirt, and bruised her.

His wife is now retracting those claims, saying she had previously been in an abusive relation and requested the protection order “out of caution.”

Asked what the Democrats’ plan is to stop Trump, Dean said her party had limited tools to do so. The responsibility is with the voters.

“I will start by saying elections have consequences. This man got elected twice. I do not know how it happened. I did everything — this is not a political event, we know that — but I did everything in my power to lift up a candidate I thought would be more worthy,” Dean said.

“I was not successful in that.”

The Delaware Valley’s Democratic congresswomen were divided on whether to censure U.S. Rep. Al Green, the angry, 77-year-old Texan who repeatedly violated House rules as he waved his cane and tried to shout down President Trump Tuesday night.

Green, who announced plans to file articles of impeachment just 15 days after Trump was sworn into his second term, wasn’t the only Democrat to engage in rude behavior during the presidential address. Many turned their backs on Trump as he entered the building and spent most of the speech scowling or waving signs of protest.

As a group, Democrats refused to stand and applaud for civilian special guests recognized by the president, even when a 13-year-old cancer survivor was given an honorary membership as a Secret Service agent. Some even made a display of storming out of the speech before it was over, including local Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon.

During the president’s address to a joint session of Congress, Green repeatedly broke decorum — and House rules — and was warned by Speaker of the House Mike Johnson. The Texas Congressman refused to be seated and continued to shout and wave his cane. At that point, Johnson called for the sergeant at arms to escort Green from the chamber.

In a sign of how far over the line Green’s actions were, it took less than 48 hours for lawmakers to put forward, agree on and pass the censure resolution in a 224-198 vote. Every Republican, including Bucks County Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, voted in favor of censure. GOP members were joined by 10 Democrats, including Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, who represents Chester and Berks Counties.

Scanlon and her fellow Delaware Valley progressive Rep. Madeleine Dean voted against censure.

Johnson called out the Democratic majority that voted against censure in a case that, most observers say, was a clear violation of House rules.

“198 Democrats just voted against censuring Rep. Al Green. Instead of supporting decorum, they defended his shameful and egregious behavior. What an embarrassment,” Johnson posted on social media,

If House Democrats were embarrassed by their support of Green and his antics, it didn’t show. A group of them stood and sang “We Shall Overcome” on the House floor Thursday during the censure process, ignoring the speaker’s gavel. Politico described it as “a wild scene.”

Even Houlahan, who voted for censure, took to social media to defend her actions to her Democratic constituents.

“Today’s vote to censure my fellow representative was not easy and has angered many of you,” Houlahan said, adding that she also “called Speaker Johnson out on his and his party’s hypocrisy and reminded him of the many instances in which Republicans have blatantly broken the rules of conduct without consequence.”

This isn’t the first time local Democrats voted against censure for what many considered egregious behavior. In 2023, progressive Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) was censured for using offensive language about Israel, including promoting a chant that calls for the destruction of the Jewish state (“From the river to the sea, Palestine shall be free.”)

Florida Democrat Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz pointed out that “This phrase means eradicating Israel and Jews. Period.” But Dean, Houlahan and Scanlon all voted against the Tlaib censure resolution.

Some Democrats, including Pennsylvania U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, have been critical of the behavior of Green and other members of their party during Trump’s speech, saying it turns off voters.

Despite the political animosity on the House floor, there were green shoots of bipartisanship in Trump’s speech Tuesday night.

The president recognized his wife, First Lady Melania Trump, for her work on the Take It Down Act, a bill making it illegal to knowingly publish nonconsensual AI-generated pornography with someone’s image. Social media and websites must remove that content when a victim notifies them. On CNN Thursday, Dean said she’s sponsoring that bill and she had sent Mrs. Trump a letter thanking her for her support.

As for his behavior, Green says he has no regrets.

“I would do it again,” he told reporters after the censure vote.

Congress recently passed the Laken Riley Act with bipartisan support. Laken Riley was a 22-year-old nursing student murdered on Feb. 22, 2024, by an illegal alien at the University of Georgia. The murderer had been arrested previously on other charges. but had not been detained by local authorities for possible deportation by ICE.

The Laken Riley law would require that ICE be notified of those here illegally who were arrested for other crimes. It also requires those authorities to obey ICE detainers and keep them in jail.

It also would allow state attorneys general to sue the secretary of Homeland Security for injunctive relief if immigration actions such as parole, violation of detention requirements, or other policy failures harm that state or its citizens.

The bill was championed by Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. John Fetterman with 11 other Democratic senators also voting for it. Northeast Philadelphia Democratic Congressman Brendan Boyle also voted for the bill.

However, the Philadelphia suburbs must not need the protection this bill affords, because Democratic Congresswomen Madeleine Dean, Mary Scanlon, and Chrissy Houlahan voted against it. Houlahan led the charge and wrote an op-ed for The Philadelphia Inquirer, claiming the bill was unconstitutional.

Houlahan even mentioned seeing “I’m Just a Bill” from watching Saturday “Schoolhouse Rock!” on Saturday mornings to bolster her duty to oppose the bill.

Could Houlahan’s position stem from the mushroom farms in her Chester County district rather than a children’s TV show? Those huge farms have been cited for hiring many workers who might be here illegally.

Houlahan uses the Democratic talking point that our immigration system is broken and what we need are laws like the Border Act of 2024. That law would essentially codify a surrender to former President Joe Biden’s open border policies, which set the stage for Laken Riley’s murder.

In denying that American citizens are being harmed by people who are here illegally, Houlahan attacks the cost of the law.

Tom Homan, the Trump administration’s border czar, was confronted last Sunday by ABC News reporter Martha Raddatz about the cost of deporting criminal illegal immigrants. Homan pushed back by asking how can we put a price tag on the lives of people like Laken Riley and hundreds of other Americans.

The inescapable fact is that Laken Riley would be alive today if the person who killed her had been held for deportation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement [ ICE].

Are the voters in the Delaware Valley supportive of opposition to commonsense laws like the Laken Riley Act? Or are these areas immune from all the problems caused by Biden’s open border failures? Hundreds of polls show illegal immigrant crime is right there with inflation as a problem that Americans are most concerned about. I don’t think so, and when the ICE officers target criminal illegal aliens in the Philadelphia area, it will be very interesting to see the reaction in the suburbs to how many murderers, rapists, and drug dealers ICE arrests and deports.

The ICE operation so far in cities like Chicago has underlined the human cost of so-called sanctuary city policies. Homan has pointed out that violent criminals have been living among us. And those wanted criminals will not be allowed to find sanctuary in churches and schools.

Fetterman, Boyle, and other Democrats who voted for the Laken Riley Act understand that significant numbers of Americans support the removal of criminal aliens. When will the Philadelphia suburbs support that commonsense reality?

Just days after the U.S. House passed the Laken Riley Act in response to the murder of a 22-year-old Georgia nursing student at the hands of a repeatedly-released illegal alien, Congress took up a bill specifically targeting illegals convicted of sex crimes.

Like the Laken Riley Act, a majority of Democrats opposed it, including local Reps. Madeleine Dean (D-Montgomery) and Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D-Delaware). But 61 Democrats joined every Republican to pass the bill with a massive 274-145 majority. Among them was Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-Chester).

The Preventing Violence Against Women by Illegal Aliens Act, which now goes to the Senate, orders the deportation of illegal aliens who commit sex offenses. It also mandates that illegal aliens convicted of sex offenses or domestic violence—or those who admit to such crimes—will be deemed inadmissible to the United States.

“No family should endure the heartbreak the families of Laken Riley, Mollie Tibbetts, Karina Vetrano, and Maddie Hines have experienced,” said the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.). “Every woman and every girl deserves to feel safe in their own community. The radical left doesn’t agree with this.”

Dean, Houlahan, and Scanlon did not respond to DVJournal’s requests for comments.

Jessica M. Vaughan, director of policy studies at the Center for Immigration Studies, called out the Democrats who voted against this bill.

“It’s astounding that any member of Congress would vote against a bill to deport violent sex offenders and those who commit domestic violence. And it’s especially astounding that women in Congress would vote against it, when they typically champion any legislation, any federal funding, any new programs to combat violence against women.

“Sadly, we have more than enough Americans who threaten and attack women. There’s no reason to protect such criminals who are here illegally. Whatever their views on immigration, surely Americans can agree on this common-sense measure. Most would be shocked that it is not already the law.”

State Rep. Martina White (R-Philadelphia) was also disappointed.

“Democrats in Congress have lost touch with common sense and what our families want. Measures to better protect women from sexual assault have strong support of all Americans, and those who voted against this bill voted against all of us.”

When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to Congress last month, Montgomery County’s U.S. Rep. Madeleine Dean was one of the Democrats who boycotted his speech.

When Democrats opposed to how Israel waged war against Hamas circulated a letter in April urging President Joe Biden to cancel an arms shipment to the Jewish state, Dean signed it.

And when Congress voted to condemn the protester chant “From the river to the sea, Palestine shall be free” as an antisemitic call to remove all Jews from the current territory of Israel, Dean voted “present.” 

Now Dean is taking political heat over her record that critics say is anti-Israel. Voters in Dean’s district are receiving mailers claiming the progressive Democrat “turned her back and sided with anti-Israel extremists over and over again.”

The mailer, paid for by WIN PA, says Dean voted against “condemning hate speech toward Jewish people” and against “key funding for Israeli defense.” Dean also “disrespected Israeli leaders at the urging of extremist Islamic groups” and “joined the most radical anti-Israel members of Congress demanding that Biden cut off support for Israel.”

Dean did not respond to requests for comment about the attacks on her record.

“Voters in Rep. Dean’s district deserve to know that their U.S. representative, Madeleine Dean, has sided with pro-Hamas terrorists and against Israel,” said Matt Brouilette, the president and CEO of Commonwealth Partners Chamber of Entrepreneurs and the WIN PA PAC treasurer. He said the mailer “is educating voters on the truth of Rep. Dean’s record, as most voters do not agree with her extremism.”

“This is not the only issue where Rep. Dean is out of step with her constituents,” Brouilette said. “By siding with Biden nearly 100 percent of the time, she also owns the historic inflation that’s hurting Pennsylvanians, as well as the border crisis that’s threatening national security.”

Commonwealth Partners receives some of its funding from Jeffery Yass, a Main Line billionaire, who is reportedly Pennsylvania’s wealthiest man and a donor to GOP causes.

Dean argues that by pressuring Israel and threatening it with losing the support in the U.S., she’s promoting the cause of peace.

On July 25, she posted to X: “Hamas committed a terrorist act on innocent Israelis on October 7th. Those of us who truly seek peace, humanitarian aid for Palestinians, and an end to this war can see that inappropriate protest tactics do nothing for those suffering abroad and only stand to hurt people here.”

David Winkler, the Republican running against Dean, declined to comment about the mailer. However, Winkler has been critical of Dean’s stance toward Israel.  Dean also boycotted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent speech to Congress. Winkler is actively seeking support from Jewish residents, including rabbis.

The beleaguered Jewish state has been defending itself from attacks from Iranian proxies, including Hezbollah in Lebanon and Houthis in Yemen, since the horrific Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack.

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Local U.S. Reps. Madeleine Dean (D-Montgomery) and Chrissy Houlahan (D-Chester) both participated in the boycott of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to Congress on Wednesday, sending a political message to their Delaware Valley constituents.

Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Bucks) was on hand to hear Netanyahu’s remarks, as were Sens. Bob Casey and John Fetterman — the latter abandoning his usual sweats-and-shorts attire and donning a suit and (Israel-blue) tie.

The Democratic Party has been roiled by divisions since the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attack on Israel and the Jewish State’s military response. Democrats are divided over how to respond to protests in which young, politically progressive crowds chant, “From the River to the Sea, Palestine Shall Be Free” — a phrase viewed by many as antisemitic.

Those protests continued outside the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, where anti-Israel activists burned the U.S. flag and defaced historic monuments. Some protesters even waved Hamas flags and declared their solidarity with the terrorist group.

Netanyahu called out the protesters during his speech.

“When the tyrants of Iran, who hang gays from cranes and murder women for women for not covering their hair, are praising, promoting and funding you, you have officially become Iran’s useful idiots,” Netanyahu said.

“Some of these protesters hold up signs saying, ‘Gays for Gaza,’” he added. “They might as well hold up signs saying ‘Chickens for KFC.’”

About half the Democratic caucus in the House and Senate skipped Netanyahu’s speech, and Vice President Kamala Harris declined to perform her duties of presiding over the Senate. Instead she spoke at a sorority event in Indiana.

Dean made her reasons for boycotting Netanyahu clear in a post on X, “I respect our institution, open dialogue, and collaboration with allies. But a line must be drawn. I will not attend today’s address. Mr. Netanyahu will not lecture me on morality and justice.”

David Winkler, Dean’s Republican opponent, replied on X.

“You are one of the most Antisemitic congresswomen serving today. How dare you turn your back on Israel, a Major Non-NATO US Ally of the United States. This isn’t leadership; you hate Jews & just won’t say it outright,” Winkler said. “I stand in solidarity with our Jewish community & Israel against Hamas & the hateful Pro Palestine extremists.”

In a statement, Houlahan laid out her reasons for boycotting Netanyahu’s speech.

“I chose not to attend Prime Minister Netanyahu’s joint address to Congress. It was an enormously difficult decision. My priority with this conflict is and has always been, to use my position to aid in finding real solutions for enduring peace, a two-state solution, the release of hostages, and expanded humanitarian aid for those suffering in Gaza, the West Bank, and Israel.

“I believe that centering attention on this speech at this time would not only be a distraction from these important goals, which include a ceasefire agreement, but may, in fact, make these goals less attainable,” said Houlahan.

Her GOP opponent, Neil Young, also responded.

“Chrissy Houlahan’s decision to boycott Prime Minister Netanyahu’s address to Congress is a disgraceful rejection of our valuable Jewish allies and friends. [Houlahan] explained that she didn’t want to be a distraction by attending but instead became a distraction by explaining why she didn’t want to be a distraction. Houlahan took a day off while Israel is fighting for [its] survival,” Young said.

In his speech, Netanyahu thanked both President Joe Biden, who calls himself an “Irish American Zionist,” and former President Donald Trump, the author of the Abraham Accords, for their support of Israel.

“For Israel never again must not be an empty promise,” he said. “It must always be a sacred vow. And after Oct 7th, never again is now.”

He also called out the protesters outside the Capitol while he spoke, who had camped out on university campuses this past spring.

Defeating the enemy requires both “courage and clarity,” he said. “And clarity begins with knowing the difference between good and evil. I think many anti-Israel protesters, many chose to stand with evil. They stand with Hamas. They stand with rapists and murderers.”

Netanyahu, a Cheltenham High School graduate, also condemned the university presidents, including from his alma mater MIT, who testified before Congress and could not condemn students calling for the genocide of Jews 80 years after the Holocaust, saying it depended on the context.

He pointed out the claim that Israel is a colonial state but pointed out, “for nearly 4,000 years, Israel has been the homeland of the Jewish people.”

“It will always be our home,” he said.

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David Winkler says he believes he has a good chance of beating three-term  incumbent Congresswoman Madeleine Dean (D-Montgomery) in November.

Winkler is running for Congress because he cares “deeply about America.”  He served in the U.S. Marine Corps and fought in Iraq and Afghanistan. After leaving the Marines, he joined the Army.

“A lot of people died to preserve our freedoms and way of life,” said Winkler. “I feel like right now our government is failing the people. And that it’s my duty to stand up and fix it.”

His changes have improved because of the rising popularity of former President Donald Trump, whose coattails might lift down-ballot Republicans.

And, the first-time Republican candidate notes that Dean’s far-left votes against Israel and pro-Palestinians have alienated a sizable portion of the area’s Jewish voters. According to the Jewish Federation of Philadelphia, Jews comprise about 10 percent of Montgomery County residents.

Dean is “one of the most divisive people we have in the government,” said Winkler, 38. “Everything she’s done has torn America apart, from her volunteering to be an impeachment manager to her voting record, even at what’s happened with the Jewish community, the blatant antisemitism. We need people in D.C. who bring people together, not divide… She only caters to the far left.”

Commentary magazine editor John Podhoretz wrote in June that Trump is poised to get more support from Jews than any Republican presidential candidate in modern history due to Biden’s lukewarm support of Israel. He noted a drop in votes for Democrats from Pennsylvania Jews “may be the game right here.”

Rabbi Matthew Adelson, a Conservative rabbi and member of the Philadelphia Board of Rabbis, supports Winkler for Winkler’s position backing Israel.

“David is a wonderful person,” said Abelson. After he met Winkler, “it became very clear to me that he’s someone who is capable of leading on that very critical issue.”

In the months since the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attacks, Dean has “made it very clear she is not a supporter of Israel,” said Adelson, who cataloged a long list of Dean’s pro-Palestinian votes.

“On Nov. 7, there was an opportunity to censure (Rep.) Rashida Talib (D-Mich.) for promoting false narratives regarding the Oct. 7 attack, and (Dean) voted no,” said Adelson. “She allowed funds to go to Iran, and voted against putting sanctions on Qatar.” Iran funds Hamas, and Qatar has given money and sanctuary to its leaders.

“In December, she did not condemn antisemitism on university campuses amid the testimony of university presidents to Congress,” Abelson said. “She voted no on the Israel security supplemental Appropriations Act on Feb. 24.  She called for a ceasefire with Hamas on Feb. 29.”

On April 5, Dean voted with members of the “Squad” to cut U.S. military aid to Israel.

“And she wrote a letter asking Biden to ‘use all the tools’ there are to prevent Israel from going into Rafah,” he said. “When the IDF did go into Rafah, they found tunnels between Rafah and Egypt, which is a grave concern.”

“On April 16, around Passover, she voted present when there was an opportunity to condemn the slogan ‘From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,’ which is clearly genocidal,” he added. In May, she backed Biden’s withholding of offensive weapons from Israel.

And in July, Dean “rose on the House floor” to say the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine (UNRWA), which is anti-Israel with employees who took part in the Hamas terror attack, “is doing ‘God’s work,’” said Abelson.

“It’s very obvious she doesn’t have the back of her Jewish constituents,” he said.

Christian Nascimento, chair of the Montgomery County Republican Committee, said, “Whether it is her doubling down on support for Joe Biden after the recent debate debacle or her one-sided approach to the Israeli-Hamas conflict, Rep. Dean has shown that her far-left views are outside the mainstream of Montgomery County voters. In David Winkler, we have a candidate that has a commonsense approach and a different perspective as a person of color and a veteran – a perspective that better aligns with the majority of residents of the 4th Congressional district.”

Winker also holds Dean, who sits on the foreign affairs committee, partly responsible for the disastrous American withdrawal from Afghanistan, where 13 U.S. troops died in a suicide bombing at Abbey Gate near the Kabul airport.

“She should have been able to push back on Biden to keep Bagram Air Base open,” he added. He noted military equipment worth billions was left behind, but more importantly, so were American citizens and Afghans who helped Americans.

“One of those was my interpreter,” said Winkler. “This was a complete failure of the U.S. State Department and the Department of Defense.” His interpreter is still trapped in Afghanistan.

That withdrawal is “one of the reasons I’m running. Once a Marine, always a Marine. Semper Fi. We don’t leave people behind.”

Winkler was a biracial foster child who was adopted by “two loving White parents.” His father was an engineer with Raytheon, then a merchant marine. Winkler grew up in Canada, southern California, and Northern Ireland. Winkler joined the Marines when he turned 18. He also worked as a police officer in Murfreesboro, Tenn. and led a nonprofit, Wings for Warriors. He moved to Montgomery County in 2021 after marrying his wife, Kay, who grew up here. She is a first-generation American whose family came from Sierra Leone. The Winklers, who live in Elkins Park, are raising a stepdaughter and a baby son. David Winkler currently employed as a property manager.

“I’m just a pissed-off veteran,” said Winkler. “You can call it MAGA. You can call it whatever you want. I’m just very commonsense.”

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President Joe Biden released a letter Monday saying he would ignore calls to give up his campaign for a second term and stay the course.

“I wouldn’t be running again if I did not absolutely believe I was the best person to beat Donald Trump in 2024,” the 81-year-old incumbent wrote, noting with nearly 3,900 delegates, he is the “presumptive nominee of our party by a wide margin.”

The calls from members of his own party for him to leave the fray came after a calamitous debate performance last month.

Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-Montgomery) is among those who are standing by the president, appearing with him at a Black church in Philadelphia on Sunday.

In her remarks at that church, Dean called Biden “an amazing man.”

“Take a look at what has been accomplished under this president. And I can tell you close up, and personally, the contrast couldn’t be greater.  I served two years before you became president with the former guy. They were very dark days in our country. We cannot go back.  It would only be worse,” said Dean.

“Democracy is on the line. There’s no greater patriot than Joe Biden to serve us,” Dean said.

Rep. Susan Wild (D-Lehigh) disagrees. She has been among those ready to throw the elderly president overboard in favor of a more electable candidate as Biden’s sinking poll numbers might influence her own reelection chances.

A poll sponsored by Democrats for the Next Generation and conducted by Emerson College in the days immediately following the first presidential debate shows Biden losing to Trump in each of the six swing states by an average of 9.4 percent of the candidates’ vote count, or four percentage points of the total votes. That poll showed Biden is down 5 percent against Trump in Pennsylvania 43 to 48 percent.

A Commonwealth poll showed Biden has a 55 percent disapproval rating among state residents.

In his latest newsletter, Franklin & Marshall College poll director Berwood Yost calls it the “Democrats’ dilemma.”

“Last fall, 41 percent of Pennsylvania’s voters thought President Biden was too old to serve another term, compared to 4 percent who thought Mr. Trump was too old and 43 percent who thought they were both too old. That sentiment was unchanged throughout the early phases of the campaign, and it is difficult to imagine it has improved since the debate,” Yost wrote.

“There is no right answer, and I’m not in any way calling for a particular outcome,” he told DVJournal. “I simply wanted to point out the issues confronting the president and his party. We haven’t polled on any other candidates yet, so we can’t be sure how a change would affect the race, which is what makes a change risky.”

Long-time Democratic consultant T.J. Rooney believes Dean is on the right track.

“Early in my service in the General Assembly, an older member suggested the most successful politicians knew that ‘Every private thought doesn’t require a public utterance.’ I believe that’s true in this case,” said Rooney. “Nobody in the Pennsylvania delegation should be among the early voices calling for the President to step aside. Most people, at least at this juncture, don’t care what the members think. Why in the world would we be eager or quick to turn on ‘one of our own’?

“Rep Wild is particularly troublesome in that both the President and First Lady have traveled to the Lehigh Valley to help her out. I assume they won’t be doing that anymore,” Rooney added pointedly.

Not surprisingly, Republicans see things differently.

David Winkler, Dean’s opponent, said, “Madeline Dean seems more focused on maintaining temporary power than prioritizing the well-being of all Americans. She lacks credibility on this subject when she avoids addressing our campaign’s call to debate, denying the people the opportunity to hear from both candidates on crucial issues.

“President Biden deserves a peaceful retirement and quality time with his family. Advancing age is impeding his ability to lead effectively. It is concerning to witness what appears to be neglect or exploitation of his elderly status by the Democrat elite,” Winkler added.

State Rep. Ryan Mackenzie (R-Lower Macungie), who is challenging Wild, said, “It’s time for Susan Wild to tell the truth. While the American people are worrying about President Biden’s ability to do the job, Susan Wild is worrying about her political future. On a call with fellow Democratic representatives, Wild worried aloud about her own electability as a result of Biden’s unfitness for office. This comes after months of assurances from Susan Wild that President Biden was in great shape and requests that we ‘trust’ her about that.”

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Calls of “We love you, President Biden,” filled Mount Airy Church of God in Christ in Philadelphia as the president made a campaign swing to Pennsylvania on Sunday.

Some Democrats called for Biden to bow out of the race in the wake of a disastrous performance in the debate against former President Donald Trump last month. However, on July 7, Biden visited a Black church in Philadelphia hoping to showcase his continued strength among African American voters.

Biden, who lived in Scranton before moving to Delaware when he was 10, considers Pennsylvania his second home and has come to Philadelphia often, including eight visits this year.

Biden was supposed to speak at the National Education Association annual conference in Philadelphia on Sunday. But Biden’s campaign cancelled that event after the NEA’s own unionized employees filed unfair labor practices complaints over how the teachers union treats its own employees. Biden would have had to cross a picket line, so the campaign sent him to a friendlier forum.

The 538 poll average on July 7 showed Trump leads Biden by 3.2 points in Pennsylvania despite all those visits.

Biden thanked the pastor, Bishop J. Louis Felton, and the congregation for welcoming him.

“It’s good to be home,” said Biden. “I got my start as a public defender in the civil rights movement.”

“Our purpose is to serve others,” Biden said. “That’s our purpose. To know everyone is entitled to be treated with dignity and respect, to know faith without works is dead. We’re all called to be doers of the world.”

“In this nation, that means keeping our eyes on the north star, the very idea of America,” Biden said. “We’re all created equal in the image of God. And deserve to be created with dignity and respect our entire lives. We’ve never fully lived up to that. But we’ve never fully walked away from it either. That’s because of you and generations before you who led the church from slavery to freedom.”

Biden mentioned his accomplishments in dealing with the pandemic, having the lowest Black unemployment, and his plans to “make housing affordable.”

Along with ensuring “you can follow your dreams without the burden of student debt.”

“To keep our communities safe by getting weapons of war off our streets,” he said. “To give hate no safe harbor.  While there are those who want to erase history, Kamala and I want to make it. Black history is American history.”

“I’ve been doing this a long time, honest to God I’m never more optimistic about America’s future if we stick together,” he said. “We must unite America again. That’s my goal. And may God bless our troops,” he said.

Some Democratic politicians, including Sen. Bob Casey Jr., Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker, state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, and Congresswoman Madeleine Dean, attended the church service as well. Dean travelled with Biden on both of his Pennsylvania stops Sunday, as did one of the president’s most loyal supporters, U.S. Sen. John Fetterman.

“There is only one person in the country that’s ever kicked Trump’s ass in an election —and that is your president,” Fetterman said. “He’s going to do it twice.”

Kenyatta, who is running for auditor general, said, “Joe Biden has delivered for Pennsylvania. Now we have to deliver for him and Democrats up and down the ballot to beat back the radical Project 2025 agenda of Donald Trump and Republicans.”

“Yesterday, Joe Biden couldn’t even be bothered to shake the hand of a Black supporter in the crowd, but today he’s continuing his minority pandering tour in Pennsylvania where his approval rating has dropped to 33 percent.  Clearly, Black voters are no longer buying the desperate and disingenuous faux outreach from Democrats,” said Janiyah Thomas,  director of Team Trump Black Media.

Republican Dave McCormick, an Army veteran running against Casey, said on X, “Today, Bob Casey is campaigning with President Biden in PA. Biden is not capable of serving as our Commander-in-Chief, and Casey knows it — he will lie all the way thru Election Day if he thinks it will help him win.

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley said, “Joe Biden only has 33 percent approval in the Keystone State because his policies have failed Pennsylvania families. From crippling inflation and housing prices that are making life unaffordable to police shortages and deadly fentanyl that are making communities less safe, it’s no wonder why Pennsylvania voters are lining up to Make America Great Again by supporting President Trump.”

“Short visits in front of overwhelmingly friendly groups are not going to alleviate the concerns the American people have about Biden’s ability to do the job – let alone run for another term,” said Christian Nascimento, chair of the Montgomery County GOP.

Casey was also with Biden to an ice social rally near Harrisburg later Sunday. His campaign did not respond to a request for comment on Sunday.

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“If they can do this to me, they can do this to anyone,” former President Donald Trump told reporters in the lobby of Trump Tower in New York the day after being convicted of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.

It’s a message he has repeated since then, dismissing the trial as a “scam” during an appearance on Fox and Friends Weekend on Sunday, predicting the verdict will rally his support on the right.

He blamed President Joe Biden and his administration, along with Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and Judge Juan Merchan, for the trial and verdict.

“People get it. It’s a scam. And the Republican Party, they’ve stuck. They stick together in this. They see that it’s the weaponization of the Justice Department, of the FBI and that’s [it’s] all coming out of Washington.”

Trump, who is set to be sentenced July 11 — just four days before the Republican National Convention — said he will appeal.

And what are people in the Delaware Valley saying?

Responding on Facebook, DVJournal reader Bill Watkins put it succinctly: “Vote Trump.”

“Good. Our judicial system, the foundation of a nation of laws, worked,” was the response of Rich Heiland.

Muhlenberg College political science Professor Christopher Borick offered a more analytical view.

“The very tight presidential race in the commonwealth is creating a bit of gravitational pull on the down-ballot races, making it a challenge for down-ballot Republicans and Democrats to escape the performance of Trump and Biden,” Borick said.

“If the guilty verdict does nudge a relatively small slice of voters away from Trump as polling suggest it might, it can place some weight onto down-ballot Republicans who have been modestly lifted by Trump’s fairly good showing in recent polls  All of this is among a small group of voters, but in a place like Pennsylvania, and in the state’s most competitive districts [for example, the 7th, 8th and 10th] all the little things matter,” added Borick.

Also, on Facebook, Skippack resident Debbie Jr. “D.J.” McGinley said, “I was independent. I always voted Democrat until this election. I changed my party to Republican because of the nonsense. I will vote for Trump no matter what.”

Carole Anne said, “I’m ultra, ultra MAGA now.”

Newtown resident Fred D’Ascenzo said he is “very upset.”

“I am deeply upset by the verdict, beyond mad and very concerned about the future of this country,” said D’Azcenzo. “I would not want to see any president experience this no matter the party. It does have the appearance of a political hit on Trump. In my opinion, this was a directed verdict by a partisan judge and a politically motivated DA, who stated in his campaign, that he was going after Trump. Can’t make it up.

“I see and hear people praising and celebrating the verdict. We are in trouble. This will divide the country even further,” he added.

“I think it will change people’s minds and alliances on both sides,” said D’Azcenzo. He is “not sure what the outcome will be. There will be people that will say, ‘I am not voting for a convicted felon,’ and there will be people that are so upset that they will change their vote possibly to vote for someone they feel was unjustly vilified.”

Cheltenham resident Myron Goldman said, “I think the Trump trial confirms the corruption of the Justice Department by the Biden administration. I think it’s horrible.”

Congresswoman Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.) said on X, “Today marks the first time a former president has been convicted of a crime — in this case 34 felonies. I’m not happy about the crimes, the corruption, or the convictions — yet I am joyful for our democracy. Because no one is above the law. We are a system of laws, not of men.”

Interestingly, Bucks County U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick and his fellow moderate Republican Rep. Tom Kean Jr. across the river in New Jersey have had no comment.

Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward (R-Westmoreland) said, “It will be up to former President Trump to appeal to a higher court or accept the verdict and pay the penalty just as any other person facing a trial of their peers. The path forward seems obvious and the likelihood the upper court would overturn the lower court’s decision on merit is strong.

“The guilty verdict on all counts by the jury raises red flags, making this seem more like a persecution than a prosecution. It should be a wake-up call for Pennsylvanians that the rule of law and the permanency of our republic is at stake and no individual is immune to the consequences of a judicial system influenced by activism,” said Ward.

Republican Scott Presler, a voter registration activist who often visits the state, sees post-verdict opportunity for the GOP in the Keystone State.

“After seeing what happened yesterday, buying a home in Pennsylvania was the best decision I ever made,” said Presler on X Friday. “I’m moving to Pennsylvania just to vote for President Trump. That’s the best investment I could ever make. If you live in Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, or another red state, move to Pennsylvania and help save the world.”

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