LEHIGH COUNTY, Pa. (WHP) — President Donald Trump made a stop in Pennsylvania Tuesday, where he praised the current state of the economy and what he called his “historic peace agreement” with Iran, while blasting Gov. Josh Shapiro.
The president entered the Mack Trucks facility in Macungie, Pennsylvania, around 2:50 p.m. to “God Bless the USA”. There was applause and chants of “USA” as he began speaking.
CBS 21 is streaming the event live. You can watch below:
Trump talked about his success in Pennsylvania and then asked, “Should we run one more time?”
“I love Allentown,” he said. “I love any place that votes for me, which is the entire state of Pennsylvania.”
Trump spoke positively about Mack Trucks, a U.S. truck manufacturer, and thanked the president of the company, Steven Roy, calling him a “great patriot” and a “very strong Republican.”
He also discussed his tariffs on steel and aluminum, saying they would prevent people from other counties from stealing American jobs. Trump also referenced a 25% tariff on cars and trucks.
“Right now we have more factories being built… than we’ve ever had in the history of our country, by three times,” Trump said. “That’s because they didn’t want to pay the tariff. How don’t you pay a tariff? You build your factory here and hire American workers.”
He said tax cuts are supposed to boost take-home pay for Pennsylvanians by $10,000 a year per household.
“We put you first,” he said to the crowd.
READ MORE | More Pennsylvanians increasingly sour on Donald Trump, poll finds
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro has maintained the opposite, especially when it comes to the economy under Trump.
“The vast majority of Pennsylvanians are hurting with higher costs because of the President’s economies policies,” the governor said in an interview shared on X Monday.
During his remarks, Trump said “Shapiro’s not much better” than the politicians he called “communists” in New York.
In response to Trump’s visit, Shapiro wrote:
I hear from folks across this Commonwealth every day: Donald Trump’s chaos, cruelty, and corruption are making our country worse off and making it harder for families to get by.Folks want a government that works for them and makes the day-to-day easier — which is the opposite of what Trump and his allies are doing in DC.This November, we’re going to have a national referendum to put a check on this President and his reckless agenda — and Pennsylvania is ready to stand up.
The president also addressed the recent interim ceasefire agreement with Iran, which he called a “historic peace agreement.”
READ MORE | What to know about the deal to end the war with Iran
“I’m standing up again because Iran can not have a nuclear weapon, if that’s ok,” he said to cheers.
Trump said Iran has agreed not to own a nuclear weapon, and oil is flowing out of the Straight of Hormuz.
The Associated Press reported the president’s visit to Pennsylvania would likely shift attention to the country’s economy in his first public event since he signed the interim agreement to end the war in Iran.
“Mack Trucks are a symbol of America’s manufacturing strength,” Congressman Dan Meuser wrote in a Facebook post about Trump’s event. “Their Lehigh Valley operations are a pillar of the local economy, employing Pennsylvania workers and driving the nation’s trucking industry.”
Pennsylvania Democratic Party Chair Eugene DePasquale, on the other hand, said Trump and “his allies” are visiting Pennsylvania to “try to sell their chaotic, corrupt, and cost-raising agenda.”
“Donald Trump has no shame coming back to our Commonwealth as he works alongside Stacy Garrity, Ryan Mackenzie, and Dan Meuser to find new and uniquely corrupt ways to make life harder for Pennsylvanians — from their costly war of choice that caused gas prices to skyrocket to their cruel healthcare cuts that have already forced more than 160,000 Pennsylvanians to drop their insurance,” DePasquale wrote in a statement.