His campaign crumbling and the GOP in a panic, Donald Trump held a rally in Fairfield, Connecticut, on Saturday night, this time emphasizing tax rates and a more business-friendly environment.
Trump deviated from his populist message (see his speeches earlier this week, in Erie, Pennsylvania, and Abingdon, in southwestern Virginia — regions with diminishing manufacturing sectors) to appeal to the — on average — wealthier suburbanites in the audience.
By the time Trump took the stage shortly after 8 p.m., it was 85 degrees outside. Inside the William H. Pitt Center — a gymnasium at Sacred Heart University — however, it felt like it couldn't have been less than 200 degrees.
"How do you lose General Electric?" Trump said early on, referring to GE's announcement earlier this year that it would be relocating its headquarters — in Fairfield since 1974 — to Boston in 2018.
Trump blamed Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy for GE's decision to relocate.
"[Malloy's] a very unpopular guy," Trump said of the Democratic governor. "He's done a very poor job for Connecticut."
Trump then pointed out in the audience "the great" John H. Myers, the former-CEO of GE Asset Managements.
"Your company is leaving," Trump yelled to Myers. "You wouldn't leave if Trump were governor, I can tell you that ... They had very bad representation in Connecticut."
According to The Wall Street Journal, "Officials in Massachusetts said they had offered incentives worth up to $145 million to the conglomerate."
"The move comes amid a broader effort by GE to cut corporate costs and streamline operations for what it portrays as a new industrial era that will revolve around software innovation as much as bended metal—one that will make it a priority to attract the talented workers who prefer to live and work in cities."
Fairfield County boasts a median income of $83,163 — well above the national, despite encompassing low-income areas in Bridgeport and Stamford. Of its 948,053 residents, 79.4% are white, 20.5% are immigrants and 4% are veterans.
As recently as June, Trump's Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, held a 7-point leader over Trump in the typically blue state. Around the same time, Malloy's approval rating bottomed out at 24%.
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