JOHNSTOWN, Pa. — Three oversize American flags hung above the main factory floor here at Johnstown Wire Technologies, the fourth stop of the Hillary Clinton-Tim Kaine bus tour across western Pennsylvania and Ohio.

The stars-and-stripes imagery underscored the post-primary tone of the Democratic ticket, which is now seeking to reclaim the mantle of patriotism that for decades has been the calling card of the Republican Party.


“[Americans] saw the Democrats pull together behind a relentlessly upbeat and patriotic view of this country,” Kaine told supporters seated in the factory, referring to the successful Democratic National Convention. “Aren’t we all patriots?”

Since Donald Trump’s convention in Cleveland, which painted a dark and isolationist vision of America and its place in the world, Democrats have sought to capitalize on the red, white and blue symbolism and rhetoric he has ceded them — Clinton campaign aides are now even distributing small American flags to supporters at their larger rallies.

“American exceptionalism and the American dream are alive and well,” billionaire investor Mark Cuban told a crowd in Pittsburgh, introducing and officially endorsing Clinton and Kaine at their next bus tour stop Saturday night. “I’m ready to vote for the American dream.”

The left has long been allergic to overt displays of patriotism, with aggressive, testosterone-driven chants of “USA! USA!” typically viewed by elite Democrats as unsophisticated and jingoistic.

And Democrats have at times been mocked for their use of the flag, such as at the 1988 convention, when planners chose a stage background that featured an American flag painted in pink, azure and eggshell. The pastel hues were ridiculed by Republicans as an example of how Democrats, led by Michael Dukakis, were advocates of “pastel patriotism.”

The opening day of the Democratic National Convention last Monday was the latest example, with Republicans criticizing Democrats for the absence of physical flags on stage — there were images of flags projected on the video screen, and flags present during the Pledge of Allegiance and National Anthem, but not for the rest of the program.

Trump tried to tweak Clinton for having "not one American flag on the massive stage at the Democratic National Convention until people started complaining-then a small one. Pathetic." His observation was rated by PolitiFact as “half true.”

But that was quickly remedied. On the final night of the convention, delegates waved flags to celebrate their nominee — and there was no hint of “pastel patriotism.” It was Democratic delegates backing Clinton who waved red and blue “USA” signs and erupted in chants of “USA!” from the convention floor on Thursday, after retired four-star Gen. John Allen addressed the convention.

And it was at the Democratic convention that Khizr Khan, the father of a Muslim soldier killed while serving in Iraq, brandished his worn copy of the Constitution from the stage.

“Have you even read the United States Constitution? I will gladly lend you my copy,” Khan said, addressing Trump through the television screen, and helping to recast the idea of defending Muslim Americans in an almost unassailable context.

Now, as Clinton and Kaine tour western Pennsylvania by bus to dig into traditionally Republican turf of white, working-class voters — Mitt Romney won Johnstown’s Cambria County with 58 percent of the vote four years ago — the Clinton campaign is continuing to frame the Democratic Party as the party of patriotism.

“Donald Trump is talking about pulling back on supporting NATO and America receding from the world — he presents an unpatriotic view of the country,” said Clinton communications director Jennifer Palmieri, adding that Trump’s notion that he alone can fix it is “a very un-American view of the character of the country.”

In contrast to Trump’s bleak picture and desire for a retreat from the global stage, Clinton is asserting an optimistic view of the country’s future and its dominant role in the world — and presenting a new patriotism test for her Republican rival.

“Donald Trump has gone beyond bad-mouthing America and has actually denigrated our troops at points and even belittled POWs like John McCain,” said Clinton press secretary Brian Fallon. “This is a major reason why he is so unfit to be commander in chief.”

It was part of Clinton’s argument to the culturally conservative strongholds she began hitting up immediately after quelling Bernie Sanders and the majority of his progressive supporters.

“I don’t think we’re weak,” Clinton told a predominantly white crowd sitting in folding chairs in the overheated wire factory. “I don’t think we’re in decline. Every day, you are showing America is home to the best products. …Americans don’t say, we can fix it alone, we say, ‘OK, how are we going to fix this together?’”

At an outdoor rally in Harrisburg on Friday evening, Clinton said of her opponent: “He talks about make America great again, but he doesn’t make a single thing in America.” At two stops, she proudly pointed out that her husband’s button-down shirt was made in Reading, Pa.

Republicans who still revere the political genius of former President Ronald Reagan for his sunny, optimistic brand of conservatism said it could be a fatal error for Trump to cede the side of hope to the Democratic Party.

“The image of the country in existential crisis, defeated, that only one strong leader can bring it back — it’s antithetical to aspects of the American character, which is that we do it together,” said Republican strategist Steve Schmidt, an architect of Sen. John McCain’s 2008 presidential bid. “The dark image of the country has allowed the Democrats to appropriate the power of the symbols of the country for a political campaign.”

Despite his “Make America Great Again” slogan, Trump’s rhetoric and style has left a huge opening for Democrats on the issue of patriotism, Democrats said. “I do not think [retired Gen. John] Allen would have appeared the way he did at the convention if Jeb Bush had been the nominee,” said veteran Democratic strategist Robert Shrum.

“It’s a combination of his lack of experience on national security issues and, on the other side, his failure to embrace central American values that are the very essence of this country.”

Going into convention season earlier in July, Democrats supporting Clinton were worried that Trump would alter his tone and try to frame his campaign in the context of American ideals. But “he did none of that,” said Shrum. “He gave an extraordinary opportunity to Democrats and to Clinton. And she took it.”

Trump’s comments over the past two weeks about Russia — arguing that he might recognize Crimea as Russian territory, and even encouraging Russians to hack Clinton’s emails — have served to expand that opportunity. “That doesn’t fit with the notion of patriotic strength,” Shrum said.

Clinton’s Americana bus tour, which traveled more than 400 miles from Philadelphia to Harrisburg to Johnstown to Pittsburgh before crossing the state border into Ohio late Saturday night, was designed to continue the momentum the Democratic nominee gained after four days of speakers making the case for her.

The Clintons and the Kaines started out together, riding on a light blue bus wrapped in the general election slogan, “Stronger Together," reminiscent of the bus tour launched by Bill Clinton and Al Gore after their convention in 1992.

On day two of the ride, the Kaine team and his newly hired team of staffers moved to a second bus while Clinton spent the day working with top staffers like campaign Chairman John Podesta and Palmieri, planning the schedule for the month to come.

Bill Clinton, who was supposed to drop out of the bus tour Friday, decided to stay on for the entire three-day campaign swing. But he occupied a backseat role, sitting with Kaine’s wife, Anne Holton, and having no speaking role at the majority of the rallies.

Throughout the trip, Clinton and Kaine underscored their intention to reach across the aisle with a message designed to appeal to on-the-fence Republican or independent voters. On Saturday morning, before departing Harrisburg, the Democratic ticket sat down for an interview with Fox News — their first network interview since the convention — which was set to air Sunday morning.

“The American dream is as big as we make it,” Clinton told the crowd in Pittsburgh. “With your help, we’re going to make it even bigger.”

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article misspelled the name of Tim Kaine's wife.