Former President Donald Trump promised voters an “explosion of economic growth and vast new prosperity” under a fresh Republican administration as he and his running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance, campaigned in Pennsylvania on Monday.
“I’m here today to deliver a simple message,” Trump said Monday afternoon at a company in York, Pa., that makes components for U.S. Navy submarines. “When I return to the White House, America’s future will be built right here in Pennsylvania, and it will be built by American workers like you.”
Trump, who spoke for less than an hour, said he would dramatically cut taxes, augment domestic energy production, ease regulations and crack down on unfair trade practices to assist grow the country’s industrial base and create “millions and millions of new jobs.”
But in a separate event at a Philadelphia medical supply company, Vance backed away from a pledge he made in his first year in the Senate to raise the federal minimum wage.
“President Trump believes strongly that the best way to promote wage growth for Americans is through a tight labor market. When an employer has to pay good wages to attract the right people,” Vance said in response to question by Capital-Star.
He argued that “whether there is a higher or lower minimum wage, the way to destroy the wages of American workers is to bring in 20 million illegal immigrants and let them stay here on work visas.”
Vance, as a senator in 2023, joins five other Republican senators in introduction of the bill which would raise the federal minimum wage to $11 an hour by 2028, then index it to inflation every two years. As vice president and on the campaign trail, Kamala Harris said that supports raising the federal minimum wage to $7.25 an hour.
Despite signs of the economy’s resilience, including forceful job growth over the past year and a half, rising productivity and higher wages, the Trump-Vance campaign has cited a malaise over inflation to support its criticism of President Joe Biden and Harris’ economic policies.
Both campaigns have spent the last week outlining their plans. on tackling inflation and improving the economy, with polls indicating that the most critical issue in the electionsAnnual The inflation rate in July was 2.9%which is the lowest rate as of 2021.
Harris, Walz campaign as co-candidates for first time in western Pennsylvania
In a statement Monday, Harris’ campaign said the Republican endorsement would actually come with higher tax and health care costs for families.
“The people of Pennsylvania kicked Trump out of office in 2020 because he made their lives worse. On Monday, JD Vance will remind voters why they wanted Trump gone so badly — and why they need to show up in November to keep him out of the Oval Office for good,” Harris campaign spokesman Onotse Omoyeni said.
Trump’s visit to York on Monday was his eighth to the state and his second appearance in the Commonwealth in just three days. On Saturday, Trump rallies supporters in Wilkes-Barrewhich was his first appearance in northeastern Pennsylvania, a region that played a key role in his victory in this cycle in 2016.
Trump quoted Harris on Monday record as an opponent of fracking because he argued that energy prices would rise under a Democratic administration, making it harder for American manufacturing companies to compete with competitors in China.
“This is not sustainable for the country. That is why I have stated that a priority of my administration will be to cut energy costs in half within the first 12 months of office,” Trump said.
Vance also suggested the Trump administration would benefit Pennsylvania energy workers, echoing Trump’s slogan, “We’re gonna drill, baby, we’re gonna drill.”
Kenneth Louie, an assistant professor of economics at Penn State Behrend, said the Trump-Vance campaign is exploiting the disconnect between overall indicators of a robust economy and the experiences of consumers who are still feeling the effects of post-pandemic inflation.
“Average people see this when they’re shopping for essentials, gas, groceries, rent. And I think that’s really the main reason why … people are still a little bit uncomfortable with this situation,” Louie said, noting that inflation has slowed compared to a few years ago.
While increasing energy production in the United States would assist inoculate the economy against global geopolitical instability such as the war in Ukraine, drilling is a complicated political issue, given the need to balance economic and environmental concerns.
“While people likely understand the long-term sustainability we need to achieve with the environment and energy, they also know that jobs are an important part of their well-being and financial security,” Louie said.
Berwood Yost, director of the Center for Public Opinion Research at Franklin & Marshall College, said that while inflation is falling and voters’ individual economic situations are improving, painful experiences tend to be remembered longest.
“It takes time for that image to change in people’s minds,” Yost said. “If you’re the Trump campaign and you have to pair Kamala Harris with an unpopular incumbent president … that’s the right idea for the moment.”
The Latest Franklin & Marshall Poll The most frequently cited issue facing Pennsylvania is concerns about the economy, including unemployment and higher energy costs, according to registered voters, a report released Thursday.
Half of those surveyed said they were worse off than they were a year ago, consistent with the trend of the past few years. However, only 20% said they expected their financial situation to be worse in a year, the lowest number since early 2021, the survey found.
Yost said Harris understands her vulnerability to the economy and sent a clear message to voters with her proposal last week to ban price gouging. While the policy is questionable, Yost said it is an effective populist move.
“She’s making it clear that she understands that people are struggling economically and that she’s going to do everything she can to help, and that’s the politically correct message,” Yost said.
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