{"id":59077,"date":"2025-12-12T12:08:41","date_gmt":"2025-12-12T12:08:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/59077\/"},"modified":"2025-12-12T12:08:41","modified_gmt":"2025-12-12T12:08:41","slug":"trump-tests-his-affordability-message-at-rally-in-pennsylvania","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/59077\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump tests his affordability message at rally in Pennsylvania"},"content":{"rendered":"

Trump said he objected to taking immigrants from \u201chellholes like Afghanistan, Haiti, Somalia and many other countries.\u201d He added for emphasis that those places \u201care a disaster, right? Filthy, dirty, disgusting, ridden with crime.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"PresidentPresident Trump gestured after speaking about affordability at Mount Airy Casino Resort on Tuesday.Alex Brandon\/Associated Press<\/p>\n

Tuesday\u2019s gathering in the swing state \u2014 and in a competitive House district \u2014 was an official White House event, yet it seemed more like one of his signature campaign rallies that his chief of staff said he would hold regularly ahead of next year\u2019s midterms. But instead of being in an arena that could draw several thousand attendees, it was held in a conference center ballroom at the Mount Airy Casino Resort in Mount Pocono, a small town of about 3,000 residents.<\/p>\n

Voters starting to blame lasting inflation on Republicans<\/p>\n

Following dismal results for Republicans in last month\u2019s off-cycle elections, the White House has sought to convince voters that the economy will emerge stronger next year and that any anxieties over inflation have nothing to do with Trump.<\/p>\n

He displayed a chart comparing price increases under his predecessor, Joe Biden, to prices under his own watch to argue his case. But the overall inflation rate has climbed since he announced broad tariffs in April and left many Americans worried about their grocery, utility and housing bills.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have no higher priority than making America affordable again,\u201d Trump said. \u201cThey caused the high prices and we\u2019re bringing them down.\u201d<\/p>\n

As the president spoke, his party\u2019s political vulnerabilities were further seen as Miami voters chose Eileen Higgins to be their first Democratic mayor in nearly 30 years. Higgins defeated the Trump-endorsed Republican Emilio Gonzalez.<\/p>\n

\"SupportersSupporters cheered after President Trump spoke in Mount Pocono, Pa. The White House has sought to convince voters that the economy will emerge stronger next year.Matt Rourke\/Associated Press<\/p>\n

The president\u2019s reception in the county hosting his Tuesday rally showed he could still appeal to the base, but it was unable to settle questions of whether he could hold together his 2024 coalition. Monroe County flipped to Trump last year after having backed Biden in 2020, helping the Republican win the swing state of Pennsylvania and return to the White House after a four-year hiatus.<\/p>\n

As home to the Pocono Mountains, the county has largely relied on tourism for skiing, hiking, hunting and other activities as a source of jobs. Its proximity to New York City \u2014 under two hours by car \u2014 has also attracted people seeking more affordable housing.<\/p>\n

In Monroe County, people agree that prices are a problem<\/p>\n

But what seems undeniable \u2014 even to Trump supporters in Monroe County \u2014 is that inflation seems to be here to stay.<\/p>\n

Lou Heddy, a retired maintenance mechanic who voted for Trump last year, said he\u2019s noticed in the past month alone that his and his wife\u2019s grocery bills have risen from $175 to $200, and he\u2019s not sure Trump can bring food prices down.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce the prices get up for food, they don\u2019t ever come back down. That\u2019s just the way I feel. I don\u2019t know how the hell he would do it,\u201d said Heddy, 72.<\/p>\n

But Suzanne Vena, a Democratic voter, blames Trump\u2019s tariffs for making life more expensive, as she struggles with rising bills for food, rent and electricity on a fixed income. She remembers Trump saying that he would stop inflation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what we were originally told,\u201d said Vena, 66. \u201cDid I believe it? That\u2019s another question. I did not.\u201d<\/p>\n

The area Trump visited could help decide control of the House in next year\u2019s midterm elections.<\/p>\n

\"PresidentPresident Trump thanked a local resident named Megan while speaking Tuesday. It\u2019s not clear if Trump can motivate voters in Monroe County to show up in next year\u2019s election if they\u2019re worried about inflation.Matt Rourke\/Associated Press<\/p>\n

Trump held his rally in a congressional district held by first-term Republican Rep. Rob Bresnahan, who is a top target of Democrats. Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti, a Democrat, is running for the nomination to challenge him.<\/p>\n

Speaking to the crowd before Trump, Bresnahan said the administration was working to lower costs, but voters \u201caren\u2019t asking for partisan arguments \u2014 they\u2019re asking for results.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not clear if Trump can motivate voters in Monroe County to show up in next year\u2019s election if they\u2019re worried about inflation.<\/p>\n

Nick Riley, 38, said he\u2019s cutting back on luxuries, like going out to eat, as he absorbs higher bills for food and electricity and is having a hard time finding a good deal on a used car. Riley voted for Trump in 2020, but he sat out the 2024 election and plans to do so again next year.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re all broke. It doesn\u2019t matter whether you support Republicans or support Democrats,\u201d Riley said. \u201cWe\u2019re all broke, and we\u2019re all feeling it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump to start holding more rallies before midterm elections<\/p>\n

White House chief of staff Susie Wiles said on the online conservative talk show \u201cThe Mom View\u201d that Trump would be on the campaign trail next year to engage supporters who otherwise might sit out a congressional race.<\/p>\n

Wiles, who helped manage Trump\u2019s 2024 campaign, said most administrations try to localize midterm elections and keep the president out of the race, but she intends to do the opposite of that.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re actually going to turn that on its head,\u201d Wiles said, \u201dand put him on the ballot because so many of those low-propensity voters are Trump voters.\u201d<\/p>\n

The challenge for Trump is how to address the concerns of voters about the economy while simultaneously claiming that the economy is enjoying a historic boom.<\/p>\n

Asked on a Politico podcast how he\u2019d rate the economy, Trump leaned into grade inflation by answering \u201cA-plus,\u201d only to then amend his answer to \u201cA-plus-plus-plus-plus-plus.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump says economy is strong, but Americans should buy fewer dolls<\/p>\n

The U.S. economy has shown signs of resilience with the stock market up this year and overall growth looking solid for the third quarter. But many Americans see the prices of housing, groceries, education, electricity and other basic needs as swallowing up their incomes, a dynamic that the Trump administration has said it expects to fade next year with more investments in artificial intelligence and manufacturing.<\/p>\n

\"PresidentPresident Trump on stage at the Mount Airy Casino Resort.Adam Gray\/Photographer: Adam Gray\/Bloomber<\/p>\n

So far, the public has been skeptical about Trump\u2019s economic performance. Just 33% of U.S. adults approve of Trump\u2019s handling of the economy, according to a November survey by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.<\/p>\n

But Trump indicated that his tariffs and other policies were helping industries such as the steel sector. He said those industries mattered for the country as he then specifically told Americans that they should buy fewer pencils and dolls from overseas.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t need 37 dolls for your daughter,\u201d he told the crowd. \u201cTwo or three is nice.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Trump said he objected to taking immigrants from \u201chellholes like Afghanistan, Haiti, Somalia and many other countries.\u201d He…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":59078,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[60,299,902,38,4481,10222,28,30,29,50,10224],"class_list":{"0":"post-59077","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-pennsylvania","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-economic-policy","10":"tag-elections","11":"tag-general-news","12":"tag-inflation","13":"tag-international-trade","14":"tag-pennsylvania","15":"tag-pennsylvania-headlines","16":"tag-pennsylvania-news","17":"tag-politics","18":"tag-washington-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59077","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59077"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59077\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59078"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59077"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59077"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59077"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}