At an address that was, honestly, everywhere, President Donald Trump returned to his favorite format, gathering the faithful on Tuesday evening at the Mount Airy Resort casino in Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania.
After a successful 2024 rally, Trump made one of his first business trips outside Washington since January’s inauguration to the Pennsylvania region, which could prove key to Republicans retaining a majority in the House of Representatives.
Arriving more than an hour after the scheduled 6 p.m. start time, he played all his biggest hits, criticizing the “drowsiness” Joe Bidensaying he “won Pennsylvania three times,” calling Democrats “dishonest” and “sick people,” using the term “shithole countries,” and praising the “clean, beautiful coal” in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
The 45th and 47th presidents looked extremely pleased as they moved from one topic to another in their 94-minute speech. He rarely went to what he called “the stupid teleprompter” where he praised his achievements in his first term.
Occasionally, he returned to the main topic of economics and affordability, touting the price of gas as the national average for regular gasoline dropped below $3 a gallon for the first time in four years for $2.99. The last time the national average hit $3.00 or less was May 2021.
He praised the current inflation rate, saying it was on average five percent lower than the previous rate President Joe Biden which reached a high of 7% in 2021 during the pandemic. The 46th president oversaw an economy where inflation fell to 6.5% in 2022, 3.4% in 2023 and 2.9% in 2024. the last annual inflation rate is 3% for the 12 months ending in September.
He then turned away from his prepared remarks and called America’s European allies “weak” and “failing,” criticizing their approach to issues such as migration and the war in Ukraine. He also deviated from the “script” and started talking about windmills, transgender people and the Middle East, and launched attack after attack on immigrants.
He repeated his attacks on the central bank governor, Jerome H. Powellcalling him a “bad Fed chairman.” Before the speech, the president told reporters on Air Force One that he was still looking for candidates to fill the position when Powell’s term expires next year.
“We’re going to be looking at a few different people, but I have a pretty good idea who I want,” he told reporters.
Trump scolded Democrats for attacking his record on the economy, saying they “look into the camera and say ‘this election is all about affordability,'” calling affordability a “fraud.”
Grassroots coalition – We pay tariffs – said Pennsylvania companies paid $5.7 billion in tariffs in the year ending August 2025compared to $2.1 billion in the previous year. The average tariff rate on imports into Pennsylvania increased from 2.2% to 10.4%, due to the increases despite imports increasing by just 16%, meaning the cost raise is due to tariff policy rather than increased volume. The group emphasized that these costs are borne by businesses and passed on to Pennsylvania consumers in the form of higher prices.
The President welcomed the gathered guests, including: Senator Dave McCormick along with Ryan Mackenzie reps, Rob BresnahanAND Dan Meuser. Mackenzie and Bresnahan are in a fierce fight to keep their seats in Congress, which they took from Democrats in 2024. Trump said he believed Meuser, who chose not to run for Pennsylvania governor despite his endorsement, “would still have won the race” if he had stayed.
Mackenzie said the Biden-Harris administration has left Trump a “total mess” to neat up as Americans continue to struggle with the cost of living in key household categories.
“Northeastern Pennsylvania shows the heart and fortitude of this country,” Bresnahan said. “The message is the same wherever we go: cut costs, raise wages,” noting that voters do not submit partisan proposals. “Now is the time to build on this, lower costs for working families and bring jobs back from abroad.”
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiroan outspoken Trump critic, tweeted that “I will compare my affordability record to Donald Trump’s any day of the week. Since I became Governor, we have cut taxes SEVEN TIMES. Donald Trump is doing everything in his power to flip the script, but Pennsylvanians know better.”
“It is no coincidence that President Trump is going to northeastern Pennsylvania because he honestly acknowledges that his party is struggling to come to grips with the fact that its economic policies are having a disastrous impact on working-class Americans,” he said Lt. Governor Austin Davis during Tuesday’s press call.
