YOUNGSTOWN — One of the best ways to support law enforcement personnel, strengthen the Mahoning Valley and get the country back on track is to vote red in the Nov. 3 general election, an ardent supporter of President Donald Trump contends.

“I plan to help (Republican) candidates and help re-elect Trump,” said Geno Difabio of Youngstown, a truck driver for Youngstown-based City Machine Technologies Inc.

Difabio let his support for the president be known by acting as master of ceremonies for a Steel Valley Trump Rally dozens of supporters attended Saturday in front of U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan’s office, 241 W. Federal St., downtown.

Preceding the program was a parade that began at the Covelli Centre.

Difabio said it was “laughable” that many people blame Trump for mishandling the nation’s health pandemic and allowing the coronavirus to spread. The president closed our borders to China and other countries before the first known death in the U.S., led a large mobilization effort and ensured enough ventilators and personal protective equipment were available, he continued.

Difabio also was among the speakers during the peaceful rally who blasted Ryan, D-Howland, for what they say is his failed leadership. In addition, the nine-term congressman has unfairly attacked law enforcement and Trump’s accomplishments, Difabio said.

He also was among those who denounced Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, saying that he will raise people’s taxes and support bad trade deals.

“I think he’s holding us down,” Tony Esposito of Columbiana, one of the event’s organizers, said about Ryan, adding that he wants to raise awareness regarding what he sees as Ryan’s deficiency in creating jobs in the Valley.

The notion that the region has been a traditionally Democratic stronghold for decades is beginning to change, as Trump is seeing more local support, Esposito continued.

Christina M. Hagan, Ryan’s Republican challenger for the 13th District, told the enthusiastic crowd about her blue-collar background and said her opponent understands little about what many working people have to endure. He also has contributed to sending American jobs overseas, she added.

“We are no longer the Rust Belt; we are going to be the strong Steel Valley again. We need four more years of a leader who stands for the working class and what’s best for the U.S.,” she said, referring to Trump. “I’m so tired of reading the headlines of what Tim Ryan says he’s going to do.”

Hagan added that if elected, she will fight for her constituents’ freedoms and for their families. In addition, she will vehemently oppose any efforts to defund the police.

“It’s time we take our country back, take Congress back and move America forward,” she said.

In response, Dennis Willard, Ryan’s campaign spokesman, said: “Christina Hagan is a fraud. She glommed on to a sparse Trump rally because she has no support in the Mahoning Valley. She doesn’t even live in the district. She needs a GPS to find Youngstown. Christina Hagan was a key vote for Senate Bill 5 to take away the collective bargaining rights of police officers. She wants to defund police wages, police pensions and police safety equipment.”

In comparison, Willard said, “Tim Ryan opposed Senate Bill 5 and opposes defunding the police. Tim Ryan was at more than a dozen events on Saturday throughout the district registering voters, and saying hello again to old friends and supporters who know Tim is one of us and fights for all of us.”

Many in the pro-Trump crowd fell in with the speakers, in part by chanting “Four more years!” and “Vote red and get ahead!”

State Rep. Al Cutrona, R-Canfield, recalled how his grandfather produced steel that helped build the Valley and country when he worked for the Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. before the demise of the steel industry. If re-elected, Trump will continue to help create additional manufacturing jobs — something he’s done even during the pandemic, Cutrona said.

Thanks to Trump, nearly 2.5 million people have been brought out of poverty, he said.

A few speakers shared testimonials, including a local artist who suffers from Parkinson’s disease and called for further research to eradicate the disease. If re-elected, Trump also will protect the rights of unborn babies, as well as senior citizens, he said.

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