WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is set to travel to Pennsylvania on Tuesday for an event focused on inflation and the cost of living in the country, according to the White House. 

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President Donald Trump is set to travel to Pennsylvania on Tuesday for an event focused on inflation and the cost of living in the country, according to the White House

It also follows off-year elections last month that saw Democratic candidates like Govs-elect Abigail Spanberger of Virginia and Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey notch significant victories on platforms focused on affordability

Recently, Trump has taken to referring to the term affordability as a “hoax” started by Democrats as he repeatedly insists inflation is “essentially gone” since he returned to power

Trump has faced a certain degree of criticism from some on the right, namely firebrand Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, about his focus on international affairs and foreign policy rather than issues at home

The stop in a U.S. state to discuss the economy – something the president has not done often since leaving the campaign trail and officially returning to the Oval Office in January – comes as he has faced a certain degree of criticism from some on the right, namely firebrand Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, about his focus on international affairs and foreign policy rather than issues at home. It also follows off-year elections last month that saw Democratic candidates like Govs.-elect Abigail Spanberger of Virginia and Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey notch significant victories on platforms focused on affordability. 

Recently, Trump has taken to referring to the term affordability as a “hoax” started by Democrats as he repeatedly insists inflation is “essentially gone” since he returned to power. 

“We brought prices way down from what it was; we inherited high prices,” the president said during a roundtable at the White House Monday to announce economic aid to farmers who have been squeezed. 

He added that inflation has been “normalized” and will “go down even a little bit further” but said he doesn’t want “deflation either.” 

Bureau of Labor Statistics data released in October showed the annual rate of inflation at 3%, the highest it has been since January and above the Federal Reserve’s target, but far below the peak the country experienced in 2022 and thus far seemingly less than some economists have warned about after Trump announced his sweeping tariff agenda. Earlier this year, when the Federal Reserve was holding off on cutting interest rates, its chair noted the potential for Trump’s tariff policies to impact prices.

Americans across the country who have health care plans through the Affordable Care Act could soon see their insurance premiums rise as a result of tax credits set to expire at the end of the year that were at the center of the record-long government shutdown this fall.

Ahead of the president’s visit on Tuesday, Pennsylvania Democratic Party Chair Eugene DePasquale put out a statement, slamming the president for “desperately trying to sell his economic failures to the very people in Northeastern Pennsylvania that he’s harming.”

DePasquale added that “Pennsylvanians know Trump’s chaotic tariffs and harmful policies are raising the costs of everything from groceries to healthcare bills.”

“The hoax and con job here is that Democrats are desperately trying to harp on inflation and affordability – despite the fact that they are responsible for unleashing Joe Biden’s economic disaster for four brutal years, and still have no solutions to the problems of their creation,” Kush Desai, a spokesman for the White House said in a statement when asked by Spectrum News about Trump’s comments. “Putting the Biden economic crisis behind us has been a Day One priority for President Trump, and the Administration remains laser-focused on delivering on this goal.” 

The White House Monday put out a release touting what it said is the lowest nationwide average for regular gas prices in more than 1,600 days. It cited GasBuddy, which found 37 states are currently paying less than $3 a gallon on average. According to AAA, the national average for regular gas was at $2.952 per gallon Monday. The national average, AAA said, dropped below $3 for the first time in four years last week.

But the administration has also appeared to acknowledge higher costs on things like beef and coffee and taken steps that appear aimed at offering consumers some relief. Along with this week’s farm aid announcement, Trump signed an order last month rolling back tariffs on certain commodities, including the two previously mentioned. 

While Trump attributed Republican losses at local ballot boxes last month largely on the government shutdown that was still going on at the time, he will be eager to ensure the GOP does not face a similar fate in next year’s midterm elections. 

The topic will likely be on the president’s mind as he makes the trip to the presidential battleground state of Pennsylvania, which he won in 2024 with about 50.4% of the vote over his Democratic opponent, former Vice President Kamala Harris. That was after he narrowly lost the state in the 2020 election to former Democratic President Joe Biden.