Trump’s anti-inflation rhetoric turns into complaints about immigrants: NPR

MOUNT POCONO, Pa. — On the road in Pennsylvania on Tuesday, President Donald Trump tried to stress his focus on fighting inflation, but the issue that has hurt his popularity couldn’t get his full attention.

The president told the crowd gathered at a casino and resort in Mount Pocono that inflation was no longer an issue and that Democrats had used the term “affordability” as a “hoax” to damage his reputation. But his remarks twisted wildly to include grievances he first raised behind closed doors in his first term in 2018 — which he later denied making — asking why there weren’t more immigrants from Scandinavia in the United States.

“Why do we only receive people from poor countries, right?” Trump said on stage. “Why don’t we have some people from Norway and Sweden, just a few?”

Trump said he objects to receiving immigrants from “hells like Afghanistan, Haiti, Somalia, and many other countries.” He added to emphasize that those places are “a disaster, aren’t they? Dirty, filthy, disgusting, and full of crime.”

Tuesday’s rally in the swing state — and in a competitive House district — was an official White House event, but it looked more like one of his signature campaign rallies that his chief of staff has said he will hold regularly ahead of next year’s midterm elections. But instead of the event being in an arena that can draw several thousand attendees, it was held in a conference room at the Mount Airy Casino Resort in Mount Pocono, a small town with a population of about 3,000.

Voters began to blame Republicans for perpetual inflation

In the wake of disappointing Republican results in last month’s election, the White House has sought to convince voters that the economy will emerge stronger next year and that any concerns about inflation have nothing to do with Trump.

He displayed a graph comparing price increases under his predecessor, Joe Biden, to prices under him to make his case. But the overall inflation rate has risen since he announced broad tariffs in April, leaving many Americans worried about their grocery, utility and housing bills.

“I have no higher priority than making America affordable again,” Trump said. “They have caused prices to rise and we are working to bring them down.”

As the president spoke, his party’s political weaknesses were further on display when Miami voters chose Eileen Higgins to be their first Democratic mayor in nearly 30 years. Higgins defeated Trump-backed Republican Emilio Gonzalez.

The president’s reception in the county that hosted his rally on Tuesday showed he can still appeal to the base, but it couldn’t settle questions about whether he can maintain his coalition for 2024. Monroe County flipped for Trump last year after backing Biden in 2020, helping the Republican win the swing state of Pennsylvania and return to the White House after a four-year hiatus.

As home to the Pocono Mountains, the county has relied largely on tourism for skiing, hiking, hunting and other activities as a source of jobs. Its proximity to New York City—less than a two-hour drive—has also attracted people looking for affordable housing.

In Monroe County, people agree that prices are a problem

But what seems undeniable — even to Trump supporters in Monroe County — is that inflation appears to be here to stay.

Lou Headey, a retired maintenance mechanic who voted for Trump last year, said he’s noticed in the past month alone that his and his wife’s grocery bills have gone from $175 to $200, and he’s not sure Trump can lower food prices.

“Once food prices go up, they will never go down,” said Heidi, 72. “That’s how I feel. I don’t know how the hell he’s going to do that.”

But Democratic voter Susan Fina blames Trump’s tariffs for making life more expensive at a time when she’s grappling with higher food, rent and electricity bills on a fixed income. She remembers Trump saying he would stop inflation.

“That’s what we were told at first,” said 66-year-old Fina. “Did I believe it? That’s another question. I didn’t.”

The region Trump visited could help determine control of the House of Representatives in next year’s midterm elections.

Trump held his rally in a congressional district controlled by first-term Republican Representative Rob Bresnahan, the Democrats’ main target. Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti, a Democrat, is running for the nomination to challenge him.

Speaking to the crowd before Trump, Bresnahan said the administration is working to cut costs, but voters “aren’t asking for partisan arguments — they’re demanding results.”

It’s not clear whether Trump can motivate Monroe County voters to turn out for next year’s election if they’re worried about inflation.

Nick Reilly, 38, said he was cutting back on luxuries, such as going out to eat, because he had to deal with rising food and electricity bills and had difficulty finding a good deal on a used car. Reilly voted for Trump in 2020, but did not participate in the 2024 election and plans to do so again next year.

“We’re all broke. It doesn’t matter if you support Republicans or you support Democrats,” Reilly said. “We’re all broke, and we all feel it.”

Trump will start organizing more rallies before the midterm elections

White House chief of staff Susie Wiles said on the conservative online talk show “The Mom View” that Trump will be on the campaign trail next year to engage supporters who may be absent from the congressional race.

Wiles, who helped run Trump’s 2024 campaign, said most administrations are trying to localize the midterm elections and keep the president out of the race, but she intends to do the opposite.

“We’re going to flip that on its head and put it on the ballot because a lot of these low-propensity voters are Trump voters,” Wiles said.

The challenge facing Trump is how to address voters’ concerns about the economy while at the same time claiming that the economy is enjoying a historic boom.

When asked on a Politico podcast how he assessed the economy, Trump turned to inflation by answering “A-plus,” then modified his answer to “A-plus-plus-plus-plus.”

Trump says the economy is strong, but Americans should buy fewer toys

The US economy has shown signs of resilience with a stock market rally this year and strong overall growth in the third quarter. But many Americans see the prices of housing, groceries, education, electricity and other basic needs eating up their incomes, a dynamic that the Trump administration said it expects to fade next year with more investments in artificial intelligence and manufacturing.

Until now, the general public has been skeptical about Trump’s economic performance. Only 33% of U.S. adults approve of Trump’s handling of the economy, according to a November poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

But Trump has indicated that his tariffs and other policies are helping industries such as the steel sector. These industries are important to the country, he said, specifically telling Americans they should buy fewer pencils and dolls from abroad.

“You don’t need 37 dolls for your daughter,” he told the crowd. “Two or three is nice.”