MACUNGIE, Pa. \u2014 President Donald Trump\u2019s speech on manufacturing in a key Pennsylvania swing district repeatedly veered into other topics and musings about elections in other states, like Maine and California.<\/p>\n
It took the president nearly an hour to even reference by name GOP U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, the vulnerable incumbent whose district Trump was visiting to boost his chances<\/a> in this year\u2019s midterm elections.<\/p>\n And GOP gubernatorial nominee Stacy Garrity didn\u2019t even get a mention during Trump\u2019s the speech to roughly 1,500 attendees, including workers at the Mack Trucks facility in Macungie in Lehigh County.<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s visit comes just days after the company received $47 million through a Defense Department contract.<\/p>\n And while he touted the trucks, he spent just as much time meandering about weight loss drugs, immigration, firearms, the role of transgender athletes in women\u2019s sports and the UFC fight recently held on the White House lawn. He also repeated conspiracy theories about the races for Los Angeles mayor and California governor, saying he asked the U.S. attorney in that state to investigate after conservative mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt did not advance to the general election.<\/p>\n And he threw jabs at Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro amid 2028 speculation and appeared to undermine Shapiro\u2019s Republican opponent, Stacy Garrity.<\/p>\n Speaking about recent victories by Democratic socialist candidates around the country, Trump quipped that \u201cShapiro is not that much better to be honest with you.\u201d<\/p>\n He referenced the Democratic governor\u2019s potential presidential aspirations, warning that \u201ca guy like Shapiro is going to be forced on the left otherwise he\u2019s not going to get the nomination.\u201d<\/p>\n But despite weighing in on Shapiro, the governor\u2019s Republican challenger\u2019s name was noticeably absent from Trump\u2019s list of shoutouts to GOP officials, despite the fact that Garrity spoke earlier in the event.<\/p>\n \u201cMeuser\u2019s another great guy who was thinking about running for governor. I think he would have won. He was thinking of running for governor, and I said I want you to stay in Congress,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n Trump endorsed Garrity earlier this year, but the lack of acknowledgment was striking given the election year focus of the event and Garrity\u2019s own promises to support Trump\u2019s agenda.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need a governor in Harrisburg who will be a partner with President Trump in Washington, not an opponent in the court rooms,\u201d she said before Trump took the stage. \u201cWe need a governor who will fight for Pennsylvania jobs, like right here at Mack Trucks.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump reinforced his belief that tariffs have and would further revitalize the U.S. economy, though gas prices have reached new heights since he began a war with Iran and stymied the flow of oil. (The Strait of Hormuz has reopened, following a tentative peace deal struck this month<\/a>.)<\/p>\n \u201cI placed a 25% tariff on foreign automobiles and very importantly posed a 25% tariff on medium and heavy duty trucks, so Mack Trucks could do very well with this factory in Pennsylvania,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThey weren\u2019t gonna come in from foreign lands and steal your jobs,\u201d Trump added.<\/p>\n