ALLENTOWN, Pa. — When Idalia Bisbal moved to this Pennsylvania city synonymous with America’s working class, she hoped for a cheaper, easier life than the one she was leaving behind in her hometown of New York City.<\/p>\n
About three years later, she is deeply disappointed. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s worse than ever,\u201d the 67-year-old retiree, who relies on Social Security, said when asked about the economy. \u201cThe prices are high. Everything is going up. You can’t afford food because you can’t afford rent. Utilities are too high. Gas is too expensive. Everything is too expensive.\u201d <\/p>\n
Bisbal was sipping an afternoon coffee at the Hamilton Family Restaurant not long after Vice President JD Vance<\/a> rallied Republicans in a nearby suburb. In the Trump administration’s second high-profile trip to Pennsylvania<\/a> in a week, Vance acknowledged the affordability crisis<\/a>, blamed it on the Biden administration and insisted better times were ahead. He later served food to men experiencing homelessness in Allentown. <\/p>\n The visit, on top of several recent speeches from President Donald Trump<\/a>, reflects an increasingly urgent White House effort to respond to the economic anxiety that is gripping both parties. Those worries are a vulnerability for Republicans in competitive congressional districts like the one that includes Allentown, which could decide control of the U.S. House in next year\u2019s midterms.<\/p>\n But in confronting the challenge, there are risks of appearing out of touch.<\/p>\n Only 31% of U.S. adults now approve of how Trump is handling the economy, down from 40% in March, according to a poll<\/a> from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research<\/a>. Yet Trump has called affordability concerns a \u201c hoax<\/a> \u201d and gave the economy under his administration a grade of \u201cA+++++.\u201d Vance reiterated that assessment during his rally, prompting Bisbal to scoff.<\/p>\n \u201cIn his world,\u201d Bisbal, a self-described \u201cstraight-up Democrat,\u201d responded. \u201cIn the rich man\u2019s world. In our world, trust me, it\u2019s not an \u2018A.\u2019 To me, it\u2019s an \u2018F,\u2019 \u2018F,\u2019 \u2018F,\u2019 \u2018F,\u2019 \u2018F,\u2019 \u2018F.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n With a population of roughly 125,000 people, Allentown anchors the Lehigh Valley, which is Pennsylvania’s third-largest metro area. In a dozen interviews this week with local officials, business leaders and residents of both parties, there was agreement on one thing: Prices are too high. Some pointed to gas prices while others said they felt the shock more at the grocery store or in their cost of health care or housing. <\/p>\n Few shared Trump’s unbridled boosterism about the economy. <\/p>\n Tony Iannelli, the president and CEO of the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce, called Trump’s grade a \u201cstretch,\u201d saying \u201cwe have a strong economy but I think it’s not yet gone to the next stage of what I would call robust.\u201d <\/p>\n Tom Groves, who started a health and benefits consulting firm more than two decades ago, said the economy was at a \u201cB+\u201d as he blamed the Affordable Care Act, widely known as \u201cObamacare,\u201d for contributing to higher health costs and he noted stock and labor market volatility. Joe Vichot, the chairman of the Lehigh County Republican Committee, referred to Trump’s grade as a \u201ccolloquialism.\u201d<\/p>\n Far removed from Washington’s political theater, there was little consensus on who was responsible for the high prices or what should be done about it. There was, however, an acute sense of exhaustion at the seemingly endless political combat. <\/p>\n Pat Gallagher was finishing lunch a few booths down from Bisbal as she recalled meeting her late husband when they both worked at Bethlehem Steel, the manufacturing giant that closed in 2003. Now retired, she, too, relies on Social Security benefits and lives with her daughter, which helps keep costs down. She said she noticed the rising price of groceries and was becoming exasperated with the political climate. <\/p>\n \u201cI get so frustrated with hearing about the politics,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n That feeling is understandable in a place that often gets a front-row seat to the national debate, whether it wants the view or not. Singer Billy Joel’s<\/a> 1982 song \u201cAllentown\u201d helped elevate the city into the national consciousness, articulating simultaneous feelings of disillusionment and hope as factories shuttered.<\/p>\n In the decades since, Pennsylvania has become a must-win state in presidential politics and the backdrop for innumerable visits from candidates and the media. Trump and his Democratic rival in 2024, Kamala Harris<\/a>, made several campaign swings through Allentown, with the then-vice president visiting the city on the eve of the election. <\/p>\n \u201cEvery race here, all the time,\u201d Allentown\u2019s mayor, Democrat Matt Tuerk, recalled of the frenzied race last year.<\/p>\n The pace of those visits \u2014 and the attention they garnered \u2014 has not faded from many minds. Some businesses and residents declined to talk this week when approached with questions about the economy or politics, recalling blowback from speaking in the past. <\/p>\n But as attention shifts to next year\u2019s midterms, Allentown cannot escape its place as a political battleground.<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s win last year helped lift other Republicans, like U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, to victory. Mackenzie, who unseated a three-term Democrat, is now one of the most vulnerable Republicans in Congress. To win again, he must turn out the Republicans who voted in 2024 \u2014 many of whom were likely more energized by Trump\u2019s candidacy \u2014 while appealing to independents.<\/p>\n Mackenzie’s balancing act was on display when he spoke to the party faithful on Tuesday, bemoaning the \u201cfailures of Bidenomics\u201d before Vance took the stage at the rally. A day later, the congressman was back in Washington, where he joined three other House Republicans<\/a> to rebel against the party\u2019s leadership and force a vote on extending health care subsidies that expire at the end of the year.<\/p>\n Vichot, the local GOP chairman, called Mackenzie an \u201cunderdog\u201d in his reelection bid and said the health care move was a signal to voters that he is \u201ccompassionate for the people who need those services.\u201d<\/p>\n Lehigh County, home to Allentown and the most populous county in the congressional district, swung toward Trump last year. Harris’ nearly 2.7 percentage point win in the county was the tightest margin for a Democratic presidential candidate since 2004. But Democrats are feeling confident after a strong performance in this fall’s elections when they handily won a race for county executive. <\/p>\n Retaking the congressional seat is now a top priority for Democrats. Gov. Josh Shapiro<\/a>, who faces reelection next year and is a potential presidential contender in 2028, endorsed firefighter union head Bob Brooks this week for the May primary.<\/p>\n Democrats are just a few seats shy of regaining the House majority and the first midterm after a presidential election historically favors the party that’s out of power. If the focus remains on the economy, Democrats are happy. <\/p>\n