President Donald Trump plans to visit Ohio and Kentucky on Wednesday to argue that his policies can steady an economy facing shock waves from the war on Iran and to campaign against one of the few congressional Republicans who has opposed him.
In Cincinnati, the Republican president is touring Thermo Fisher Scientific, a pharmaceutical company. There, he'll tout efforts to lower prescription drug prices, a key part of his attempts to show his administration is focused on making the cost of living more affordable for many Americans ahead of November's midterm elections.
After that, Trump will visit a logistics packing facility in nearby Hebron, Kentucky, part of the district of Rep. Thomas Massie. Trump is backing a primary challenger to Massie.
The trip highlights Trump's efforts to strengthen support within his party while also focusing on economic issues as the U.S. and Israel's military action against Iran continues. He’ll be “talking about the economy, which is, of course, the utmost importance to him,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.
Polls have indicated that some Americans have concerns about Trump's handling of the economy even before the conflict with Iran began, and fighting there has complicated the administration’s economic messaging, as the low gas prices he once highlighted have risen and stocks that had set record highs have recently slipped.
Employers cut 92,000 jobs in February, and revisions trimmed another 69,000 jobs from December and January payrolls — which the White House had previously described as “blockbuster."
Trump has continued to say the country’s economy remains strong and has blamed Democrats for economic challenges.
“They’re the one that caused the problem," he told a House Republican meeting in Florida on Monday. "But we’re really bringing down prices big.”
Democrats offer a different view from Trump’s depiction of the nation, arguing that costs remain high for many Americans more than a year into his second term and that families are still struggling under his policies.
After Democrats won the Virginia and New Jersey governors' races in November, the White House announced that Trump would travel the country to highlight his focus on everyday economic issues and reassure voters concerned about prices and economic growth.
Since then, the president has made stops in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina and Texas — though his speeches have at times included criticism of political opponents along with discussion of policies aimed at lowering everyday costs.
This trip marks the first time this primary cycle that Trump has moved to support challengers to members of his own party who oppose him on key issues.
The president has endorsed Ed Gallrein, a farmer, businessman and retired Navy SEAL, who is running against Massie in Kentucky's Republican primary on May 19. Trump and Gallrein will appear together on Wednesday.
Massie is a frequent Trump critic who opposed the White House-backed tax and spending measure and pushed to have files related to the sex trafficking investigations into Jeffrey Epstein released.
He's also opposed the U.S. strike on Venezuela that toppled then-President Nicolás Maduro and, most recently, the war in Iran.
“This isn’t America First,” Massie posted on X on Sunday, blaming the war for causing gas prices to jump.
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