US President Donald Trump is speaking in Pennsylvania on Tuesday, in an effort to defend his economic record and address voter concerns about the rising cost of living.
His trip to the town of Mount Pocono comes as polls suggest public trust in his administration’s handling of the economy is waning, prompting unease among some Republicans who expect a tough fight to retain control of Congress in next year’s midterm elections.
Democratic candidates, meanwhile, made the issue of affordability central to their successful campaigns in a series of November elections, with some seeing it as a potential roadmap to victory next year.
After those elections, Trump, who has repeatedly blamed his predecessor Joe Biden for lingering economic challenges, has increased his focus on the cost of living.
“You can call it ‘affordability’ or anything you want,” he told reporters at the White House on Monday. “But the Democrats caused the affordability problem and we’re the ones that are fixing it.”
He said his administration was “bringing prices way down”.
Economic data from September shows the US inflation rate hit 3% for the first time since January, while consumer confidence fell to its lowest level since April due to concerns over the cost of living, jobs and the wider economy.
The president has acknowledged that concerns over rising prices contributed to lacklustre Republican performances in the November elections, with Democrats having success in Virginia, New Jersey and New York City.
Since then, the White House has been wrestling with how to best address voters’ unease about the economy and counter repeated Democratic criticism over rising prices.
The scale of the challenge Trump faces has been illustrated by recent polling. One poll by Politico, for example, indicated half of overall voters – and 4 in 10 people who voted for Trump in 2024 – felt the cost of living was the worst it has been in their lives.
A CBS News/YouGov poll released in late November suggested that Trump’s approval on the economy had fallen 15 points since March, with 36% of Americans approving of his handling of it.
Trump’s event on Tuesday evening at a casino in Mount Pocono, in the crucial swing state of Pennsylvania, will focus on his efforts to bring down the costs of items including gasoline and groceries, according to a source familiar with the visit.
A White House official also told Reuters that the president would cast his sweeping tariffs and regulatory rollbacks as part of a broader effort to “rewire” the US economy.
The event will take place in the state’s 8th congressional district which is currently held by a Republican, Rob Bresnahan, following an extremely narrow electoral victory in 2024.
The district has now emerged as a contentious battleground ahead of the 2026 midterms, with Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti – a Democrat – seeking the nomination to challenge him.
It is expected to be the first of a series of campaign-style events that White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles said would be comparable to those held during Trump’s successful presidential bid last year.
While he is not on the ballot in 2026, she said Trump would campaign aggressively to support Republican candidates.
In a Monday interview with the “Mom View” podcast, Wiles – who helped manage Trump’s presidential campaign – said: “I haven’t quite broken it to him yet. But he’s going to campaign like it’s 2024 again.”
Trump has defended his economic record by pointing to a number of measures he says will help ease the financial pressures on voters, including an agreement to reduce prescription drug prices, easing fuel efficiency standards for cars, extending previous tax cuts and offering new tax benefits under the “One Big Beautiful Bill” he signed into law in July.
On Monday, Trump also unveiled a $12bn farm aid package aimed at helping farmers impacted by low crop prices and tariffs.
“Putting an end to Joe Biden’s inflation and affordability crisis has been a Day One priority for President Trump,” White House spokesman Kush Desai said in a statement to the BBC.
Democrats have honed in on the cost of living, seeking to cast the blame for US “pocketbook issues” on the Trump administration’s policies.
“I want to make sure that we’re setting the record straight, showing how his policies are screwing over farmers and manufacturers, making stuff cost more every day,” Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro told MS Now ahead of Trump’s event.
“Folks can’t unsee what they see when they go to the grocery store, which is that beef and O.J. and bread and the normal staples that they need in their homes, those prices have dramatically increased on Donald Trump’s watch,” he said.
Trump has often pointed to the decline in cost for items such as egg and gasoline, but according to government data, prices are rising for other popular items such as beef, bananas and coffee.
Since Trump took office in January, the data shows that apart from one recorded fall in April, grocery prices have risen each month.
“The president of the United States has very little control over the price of food, especially in the short term,” food economics expert Professor David Ortega told BBC Verify last month.
Trump’s tariffs are driving up prices of certain foods, he said – a third of coffee consumed in the US comes from Brazil and therefore has a 50% tariff.
Trump’s illegal immigration crackdown may also have had an impact, Ortega said, especially in farming where as many as 40% of workers are estimated to be undocumented.
