Inside a casino where gambling is the norm, President Donald Trump portrayed the economy as a sure thing under his leadership so far.
At the Mount Airy Casino Resort in Monroe County, Trump touted an economic renaissance in his first 11 months, despite polling numbers that show more people think he’s doing a lousy job managing the economy and inflation than a good job.
COMPREHENSIVE COVERAGE
For vignettes from the day leading up to Trump's speech — including photo, video, and reaction from supporters and critics of the president's policies — see our live update story from Tuesday.
Trump said he has cut inflation, taxes, gasoline prices, egg prices and the cost of Thanksgiving, increased wages and eliminated illegal immigration. The stock market has hit record highs 51 times, he said.
“Now after 10 months in office, America is winning again,” Trump said. “We inherited the highest prices ever and we’re bringing them down.”
More than 2,000 supporters, many wearing MAGA, shirts or other gear, agreed, occasionally laughing when he ridiculed favorite targets and chanting in praise.
“USA! USA! USA!” they shouted as Trump took the stage.
Controlling inflation, raising wages
Trump, who took the stage at 7:09 p.m., more than an hour late, spoke for 96 minutes — from 7:11 p.m. to 8:47 p.m. — in his usual freewheeling style that bounced quickly from topic to topic.
"If I read what’s in the teleprompter, you’d all be falling asleep right now," he said. "I haven't read practically anything off this stupid teleprompter," he said later in the speech.
Signs that said, “Lower Prices” and “Bigger Paychecks,” served as a stage backdrop as Trump outlined what he views as economic progress during his first 11 months in office.
“We’re getting inflation, we’re crushing and we’re getting much higher wages,” Trump said. “Under Biden, real wages plummeted by $3,000 a year.”
Under his administration, wages have already risen $1,300 a year, foreign countries have agreed to invest trillions of dollars in the U.S., U.S. Steel’s once-faltering plant in western Pennsylvania remains open and the military is rebuilt.
The politics of the visit
Trump arrived in Northeast Pennsylvania almost 11 months into his first term with an approval rating well under water, especially when it comes to his handling of the economy.
About 9 percentage points more people disapprove of the overall job he’s doing compared to people who approve, according to the latest RealClearPolitics aggregation of polling.
On the economy and inflation, it’s worse — 15.7 percentage points higher disapproval on the economy and 27.3 percentage points higher disapproval on inflation, according to RealClearPolitics.
Big-wigs joined Trump
The event clearly demonstrated the importance the White House places on promoting Trump’s work on the economy ahead of the mid-term congressional elections next year.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Energy Secretary Chris Wright both spoke at the rally. And even though the president’s visit was official, politics permeated the event with U.S. representatives Rob Bresnahan and Ryan Mackenzie both speaking and other speakers crediting them and Trump for improving the economy.
The two Republican congressmen are huge Democratic targets.
Trashing Biden, AOC and Omar
Even though the White House billed the speech as one that would tout the nation’s economic progress under Trump, the president spent a lot of time trashing others.
Trump accused Democrats of favoring allowing men to play women’s sports and “radical-left lunatics” of controlling former President Joe Biden, ridiculing Biden for using an autopen to sign executive orders.
He also took shots at the “fake news” media, U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar — falsely claiming she married her brother — Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez and one of his favorite targets, former President Joe Biden.
He asked the crowd which way they prefer he refer to Biden.
“Which is better, Sleepy Joe or Crooked Joe?” he said.
In his polling, “typically, Crooked Joe wins,” but he prefers Sleepy Joe, he said.
“Because to me, he’s a sleepy son of a [expletive], who destroyed our country,” Trump said.
Gasoline prices
Twice, Trump referred to states where the average price of gasoline is $1.99 a gallon. Overall, prices are far lower than their peak in June 2022, but only somewhat lower than when he took office.
In the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre/Hazleton market gasoline prices were about $3.12 a gallon on Tuesday, down from $3.25 a year ago, according to AAA statistics.
Check back for updates.
