MT. POCONO, Pa. — President Donald Trump traveled to this hardscrabble and politically competitive part of the country Tuesday to tout his economic record — insisting that he’s already the architect of “lower prices” and “bigger paychecks,” as a massive sign behind him proclaimed — while voters here and across the country say their bank accounts are still squeezed.
“The only thing that is truly going up big, it’s called the stock market and your 401(k)s,” Trump said to a crowd of more than 1,000 supporters packed into a cozy ballroom at the Mt. Airy Casino Resort, nestled in the Pocono Mountains.
In hallmark fashion, he veered far off script and off the topic of affordability at times. He attacked Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn. — prompting a chant of “send her back” to Somalia — denigrating windmills, mocking transgender people and calling his predecessor, Joe Biden, a “son of a b—-.”
But even when he focused on the theme of his speech, Trump continued to publicly wrestle with the question of whether affordability is really an issue for Americans — and whether he has done enough already to right the economy. At one point he said “affordability” is a “new word” concocted by Democrats to criticize him. At another, he proclaimed, “I have no higher priority than making America affordable again.”
Trump brought allies — including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Energy Secretary Chris Wright — to back him up.
Bessent suggested that Trump has already fixed America’s economic problems. “Under President Trump, scarcity is giving way to prosperity,” Bessent said. “President Trump has put a decisive end to the three ‘i’s” — immigration, interest rates and inflation — “under Joe Biden.”
But that message is at odds with what most Americans tell pollsters — and what most voters who spoke to NBC News here in northeastern Pennsylvania said — which is that they believe the cost of living is too high and they are worried about the state of the economy. And Trump’s decision to hold a rally here, which White House officials say will be the first in a series, reflects sensitivity to both Americans’ perceptions of his performance and Republicans’ chances of keeping their House majority if it doesn’t land.
“I haven’t quite broken it to him yet,” White House chief of staff Susie Wiles said in an interview with the conservative show “The Mom View” this week, “but he’s going to campaign like it’s 2024 again.”
Trump toured the country extensively before the 2018 midterm elections — two years into his first term — but could not stop voters from ousting a Republican House majority that year and putting Democrats in position to investigate his administration. He would like to avoid a repeat of that outcome, which eventually led to him being impeached a record two times by the House.
The smaller crowd and more intimate setting for Tuesday night’s speech may have contributed to a quieter response than Trump typically gets from the faithful at rallies. The campaign-style rhetoric nevertheless included shout-outs to the locals — including a discourse on Pennsylvania’s status as a “commonwealth” rather than a “state” — about what he is trying to do for them.
“After just 10 months in office, I’m pleased to report that America is winning again, Pennsylvania is prospering again, and I will not rest until this commonwealth is wealthier and stronger than ever before,” he said to cheers.
Trump is now banking on his ability to sell the idea that he has fixed — or will fix — an economy broken by Biden. But as he does that, he runs the risk of falling into a trap that bedeviled Biden: losing credibility by telling voters the economy is better than they think it is.
One thing he did not do Tuesday night is hint at any regrets about the actions he’s taken or forthcoming changes in course. Instead, he showed a series of slides designed to demonstrate to the audience that the economy is roaring. Outside the rally — among those who are not such die-hard loyalists that they would brave sub-freezing temperatures to see him speak in a casino ballroom — the perspective on the Trump economy is more mixed.
“People don’t have disposable income like they used to,” said Robin Mathers, 51, who works part-time at a pet store in Dickson City, just outside Scranton. Mathers, who says she is a Republican but voted for Democrats all three times Trump appeared on the ballot, assessed that grocery prices “aren’t crazy” but noted that they haven’t come down, either. And, she added, her co-workers are struggling to match rising rent costs.
“We’re just kind of trying to ride it out,” she said.
Scranton resident Tom Tompkins and his partner, Cathy Gallagher, are a house divided — Tompkins backed Trump in 2024 and Gallagher did not. But they agreed in an interview with NBC News that the economy is not as strong as Trump rates it, and Tompkins said he would not vote for Trump again if the president were on the ballot now — citing affordability as the reason.
For the most part, Trump voters are sticking with him.
Bob Manci, who retired after a career as a corporate accountant for a foreign electronics company, said the economy is “doing better” under Trump.
“I know a lot of people think the tariffs are hurting the economy,” Manci said. “I don’t necessarily believe that. I think overall, it will be good for the U.S. economy, as long as everybody gives them the time to work.”
Trump graded his own economy as an “A-plus-plus-plus-plus-plus” in a Monday interview with Politico, even as he has continued to blame hardships on Biden. He has accused Democrats of manufacturing “a hoax” by blaming him for
Ultimately, voters will have their say about his handling of the economy next November in congressional races like the one that’s heating up here.
Trump won this district, which stretches from the Wilkes-Barre and Scranton to the northeastern corner of the state, by more than 8 percentage points last year. That helped freshman Rep. Rob Bresnahan, a Republican, oust a Democratic incumbent by less than 2 percentage points. Bresnahan is likely to face Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti, an independent turned Democrat, in a race that the Cook Political Report rates among the most competitive in the nation.
Bresnahan, who spoke to the crowd Tuesday before Trump arrived at the rally, acknowledged that he hears from constituents “about the challenges that they’re facing.”
“The message is the same everywhere we go: Lower the costs; support high-paying jobs; keep our communities safe; and listen to the people doing the work,” he said.
But, he added, the policies contained in Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act — including cutting taxes on tips and overtime — have delivered results for workers in his district.
“Now,” he said, “it’s time to build on this.”
Cognetti, his likely opponent, said in a telephone interview that it was clear at a public utility hearing Monday night in Scranton that voters here aren’t satisfied.
“Anyone who was listening to the stories of residents who are trying to make ends meet right now would know that we are in a very difficult economic environment for the majority of people in northeastern Pennsylvania — rising utility costs, rising housing costs, rising food costs, and, imminently, rising health care costs,” she said, the latter part in reference to Affordable Care Act subsidies that are due to expire if Congress doesn’t act this
In voting for Trump’s agenda, Cognetti said, Bresnahan has exacerbated those problems.
“The economy is not good and in our new congressman, Rob Bresnahan, we have someone who has been voting to make life harder for the residents of northeastern Pennsylvania,” she said. “At every turn, he has voted to cut programs and funding that we need.”
NBC News requested an interview with Bresnahan, but his office did not make him available to talk.
More than an hour into his rally, Trump introduced Bresnahan to the crowd, conferring on the freshman congressman an imprimatur that could be crucial to turning out GOP voters next year.
So, in all likelihood, will Republican voters’ feelings about the economy, particularly in politically divided parts of the country like this one.
Trump said the policies he’s put in place — from tax cuts to tariffs — will prove prosperous for Pennsylvania and the rest of America.
“You’re going to see what happens over the next two years,” Trump said. “It’s like a miracle is taking place.”
