SCRANTON, Pa. -- Democratic Congressman Matt Cartwright opened his new campaign headquarters in Scranton on Tuesday night, but parked right out front was a tractor-trailer criticizing the representative.
The tractor-trailer took up three spaces on Wyoming Avenue. Politics aside, nearby businesses felt they were dragged into the mess, too.
People at Real Deal Barber Shop were hard at work, but the tractor-trailer made getting customers in the door difficult.
The truck slammed the barber shop’s newest next door neighbor who’s running for re-election – Democratic Congressman Matt Cartwright.
“I don't care even if it was a Republican office there. We don't care as long as you do things fair. This here, this is cheap. It's not right,” Real Deal Barber Shop owner Jeffrey Grifin said.
The tractor-trailer even criticized Cartwright specifically as a “bad American.”
“Democrats in Lackawanna County might align more with President Trump than Matt Cartwright. That's the message,” Young Republicans of Lackawanna County member Christian Boris said.
Businessman Bob Bolus owns the truck. He also showed it off often during the 2016 presidential race. Bolus said the GOP paid for the truck to be parked outside Cartwright’s new campaign office for the day and show support for the Republican candidate, John Chrin.
“That's what politics is all about. It's agree to disagree. As young people, we just want to let other young people know that there is another side,” Young Republicans of Lackawanna County Chairman Justin Severe said.
As Cartwright walked in for the grand opening of his new campaign headquarters, volunteers held up signs to cover up the truck.
“It's young fellas having a prank, and I enjoy a prank as much as anybody else,” Cartwright said.
However, Cartwright said all of this comes at a bittersweet time.
“On the one hand - we get to open up this wonderful campaign office here in Scranton and you can hear it. It's just loaded with energy, but it's a bittersweet time because we lost an American patriot this week. We lost Senator John McCain,” Cartwright said.
Cartwright also opened another office Tuesday in downtown Wilkes-Barre.
Bob Bolus said there are no plans in the future to park the truck in front of Cartwright’s campaign headquarters in Scranton.