More than 800,000 inhabitants of this key state are of Polish origin, and both parties are trying to play on this sensitive nerve. Donald Trump's appeasement with Vladimir Putin is a strong argument for the Democrats, but is not always enough.
It is called “Little Poland”. The trace of immigrants from Central Europe since the beginning of the 20th century is clearly visible in the Port Richmond district, in north Philadelphia (Pennsylvania, United States). In some grocery stores and travel agencies, “we don’t speak English”apologize to the employees who recently arrived from the Old Continent. In the United States, more than eight million citizens have Polish origins, according to the National Census Bureau. As the country prepares to elect its president on Tuesday, November 5, this large community is the subject of particular attention from candidates. With a conflict in mind that is both distant and very close: the war in Ukraine.
“If Donald Trump were president, [Vladimir] Putin would be sitting in kyiv right now (…), his eyes fixed on Europe, starting with Poland.”Kamala Harris said to her opponent during their only televised debate in September. “Why don't you tell the 800,000 Polish Americans here in Pennsylvania how quickly you would give up [à aider l’Ukraine] in the name of a supposed friendship with a dictator who would make you his meal?”she asked her Republican rival, who promised to negotiate with kyiv and Moscow if he was elected.
“It was a pleasure to be mentioned, especially on such an important subject”confides Katarzyna, in her fifties, leaning at the counter of her small business. On the shelves, canned pickles sit alongside vacuum-packed sausages and several titles from the Polish press welcome customers. The boss will vote with two main criteria, “customs taxes, which affect products imported for the store, and the war in Ukraine”. Suffice it to say that “Donald Trump’s plans are not going my way”she slips with a smile. “Regarding Ukraine, we need someone strong, who will not give in to Putin and who will not settle with him.”
In its store open since 1996, exchanges are courteous “and never touch politics”explains Katarzyna. She knows that many residents in the neighborhood support Donald Trump. Like Dylan and Paulina, 25 and 43 years old, who are chatting on the terrace of a bar on the main avenue. “For us, there is no photo: Trump is the only one who tells the truth, and who can get rid of the liberals”assures the eldest. His Polish origins and the situation in Europe “count very little” for her, “much less than the problems we encounter here”she says, pointing at two visibly drunk men, lost in the middle of the road.
“I am not like these Poles who have two passports, and vote in every election in the old country”she blurted. “Yes, Ukraine is important, but it’s not everyone’s priority.”Next door, Dylan, a warehouse worker, argues that “Putin’s Russia’s invasion of Ukraine happened under Joe Biden, not Donald Trump”.
At the end of an adjacent street, a caterer boasts of making food since 1938 “the best kielbasa”these smoked sausages typical of Polish cuisine. Inside, the products look delicious, but the discussions are short. “I don’t have time to talk about politics, we are already bombarded by the presidential election”apologizes the manager of the family business. Since Pennsylvania is perhaps the most important of swing statesDemocrats and Republicans have massively invested in local radio stations and television channels, causing tunnels of advertising spots. At most, he received a visit “one or two” Democratic canvassers, but in this district which mainly chose Donald Trump in 2020, “it's a waste of time”, he thinks he knows.
Faced with the rise in the Republican vote in many counties, Kamala Harris's supporters sent volunteers by bus from Philadelphia, the economic heart of Pennsylvania and Democratic stronghold, to knock on the doors of voters in smaller cities. In Wilkes-Barre, local elected official Eddie Day Pashinski made the trip with an actress of Polish origin, Christine Baranski, seen in Oh mama, Le Grinch et The Good Wife. “People were amazed, it went very well”he congratulates himself
With other representatives of the Polish-American community of Pennsylvania, the elected official signed a letter to his “friends and neighbors”broadcast by the local media The Keystone, to support the Democratic candidate against Donald Trump, with Ukraine as a major concern. Similar calls were made by Polish communities in Wisconsin and Michigan, two other key states.
“We believe that Putin will be able to do whatever he wants if Trump is elected, and this bodes dark days for the European countries in his neighborhood,” justifies Eddie Day Pashinski. For the elected official, in office since 2006, “there is indeed a Polish vote”. “We are attached to the same roots, linked by the same history and have often grown up in similar conditions, whether it is the cuisine or the mood of our parentshe laughs. This is what we emphasize every time we knock on doors.”
In Wilkes-Barre, it's hard not to notice the city's industrial past. The region is part of the Rust Belt (“rust belt” in English), a territory where large steel factories and other automobile assembly lines closed from the 1980s. “The mines also played an important role in the economy, and this is what attracted tens of thousands of immigrants from Poland”traces Mary Anne Petyak, vice-chair of the Democratic Party in Luzerne County, to which the city belongs. “We don’t realize it, but there are mining tunnels everywhere below the city”she recalls. With the cessation of these activities, unemployment skyrocketed and a large part of the population became impoverished.
“Americans of Polish origin have not escaped this phenomenon, these voters have the same concerns as the others”says Thomas Shubilla, president of the local branch of the Democratic Party, “half Polish” him too. “Inflation is a big issue, and the rise of false information and conspiracy is visible here too”he explains. Under these conditions, the war in Ukraine is far from being the only subject addressed by the Democrats. “The economic aspects are very promising among this electorate”explains Lukas Pilinski, head of Poles for Harris, a political action committee created in the run-up to the presidential election. “In 2016, Poles surprisingly voted for Donald Trumphe continues, but our goal this year is to get 20,000 votes.”
In a state where Joe Biden only won by around 80,000 votes in 2020, these voters could well make the difference. In addition to Ukraine, the Democrats therefore insist on aid for business creation, housing construction and family allowances, “an important subject for these families who still have many children”they explain.
But in Luzerne County, Kamala Harris' supporters are not the only ones courting Polish Americans. In addition to playing on Donald Trump's popularity in Pennsylvania, local Republicans claim to have “muscle” their door to door. The Trump bus also stopped in Wilkes-Barre on October 22, but without the Republican candidate. Which does not mean that the billionaire is abandoning the “Polish vote”.
At the beginning of October, as “Polish-American Heritage Month” began in the United States, Donald Trump gave an interview to the right-wing Polish channel Telewizja Republika, in which he assured that “no one had done more for the Poles” than himself. On October 14, on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the American-Polish Congress, a federation of more than 3,000 cultural associations, he also made a phone call broadcast live in the room. “I look forward to welcoming you to the White House (…) when we have won”he told the audience.
